Permanent representatives of the SCO member states held a series of meetings at the SCO Secretariat in Beijing between 9 and 24 April. The meetings were designated to coordinate the final documents for the upcoming SCO Heads of State Council (HSC) Meeting (St Petersburg, 22-23 July).
The permanent representatives discussed draft joint statements by heads of state on the 75th anniversary of Victory over Nazism in WWII, on cooperation in ensuring international information security, on countering the spread of terrorist and extremist ideology, including via the Internet, on combatting the threat of drug trafficking as well as on the next five-year Action Plan for the implementation of the SCO Development Strategy until 2025.
In his address to the permanent representatives, the SCO Secretary General Vladimir Norov noted that the coronavirus pandemic has affected the operation of many SCO expert mechanisms. Vladimir Norov called for a more active involvement of the permanent representatives' institution at the Secretariat in order to agree documents of the core SCO bodies in a timely manner and maintain SCO's efficient operation.
The Secretary General awarded Permanent Representative of the Republic of India Anand Prakash with an SCO certificate for his personal contribution to the SCO activities. The participants also welcomed the newly appointed Permanent Representative of the Republic of Tajikistan Muhammad Egamzod.
The permanent representatives agreed to continue their consultations in the given format to discuss draft documents at the stage of coordination as well as to consider other aspects of the SCO's ongoing activities.