On 24 November 2020, SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov took part in the 2020 Afghanistan Conference in Geneva, via videoconference.
The event was chaired by the Afghanistani and Finnish governments as well as the United Nations and included 66 countries and 32 international organisations.
This year the conference's agenda was dedicated to discussing the key directions of the country's development and international assistance in 2021 ̵ 2024.
In his remarks, Vladimir Norov stressed that the SCO member states always regarded an immediate settlement in Afghanistan as one of the most important factors in preserving and strengthening security and stability in the region.
Mr Norov also added that during the SCO Moscow Summit, held on 10 November, the SCO leaders reaffirmed their support for the efforts taken by the government and the nation of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan as an SCO observer state aimed at restoring peace, developing the country economically and countering terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking.
It was noted that there is no alternative to settling the conflict through political dialogue and an inclusive peaceful process implemented and led by the Afghan people.
In this context, the SCO Secretary-General called for increasing cooperation between the interested states and international organisations with the UN's central coordinating role in order to stabilise and develop the country.
The importance of further cooperation within various multilateral formats, including the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group, the Moscow Consultation Format and other corresponding SCO initiatives was stressed.
It was noted that the SCO member states welcomed Tajikistan's co-chairmanship in Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process 2020 as well as the planned ninth Istanbul Process Minister Conference in Dushanbe.
Mr Norov expressed hope for the progressive and sustainable development of the peace process in Afghanistan with consideration for the interests of all its social, political, ethnic and religious groups.
At the same time, concerns were noted regarding the escalation of military violence in the country during the launch of intra-Afghan talks in Doha.
Vladimir Norov expressed gratitude to President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani for praising the SCO member states' efforts to provide constant political, economic and technical assistance to Afghanistan, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The SCO Secretary-General announced the intention to further develop comprehensive cooperation with official Kabul, including within the proposals to develop and adopt a plan of practical measures to assist in the socioeconomic restoration of the country within the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group made at the Moscow Summit.
Taking part in the conference from the SCO were Foreign Minister of India Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Foreign Minister of Pakistan Shah Mehmood Qureshi,
Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov, First Deputy Foreign Minister of Tajikistan Khusrav Noziri, Kazakhstan's Special Presidential Representative for Kazakhstan Talgat Kaliyev and the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Special Envoy for Afghanistan Affairs Liu Jian.
A joint statement was adopted following the conference. The statement confirms the long-term commitment to provide Afghanistan with support at a historical moment of its journey to peace, prosperity and self-reliance, and stresses that lasting peace can only be achieved through a peaceful settlement process carried out by the Afghan people with support of the international community.