On 20 April 2021, the Boao Forum for Asia, held in the Chinese province of Hainan, hosted a roundtable involving heads of Asian regional organisations and think tanks, organised by the China Institute of International Studies.
SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov took part in the roundtable dedicated to the new possibilities and challenges that Asian regional cooperation organisations face in promoting global governance.
In his remarks, Vladimir Norov underscored that the COVID-19 pandemic and its destructive socioeconomic consequences put global governance and international institutions on their mettle. It has also accelerated recognition of the role of healthcare systems and pointed out the inequality in access to medical care and infrastructure in different regions and countries.
The SCO Secretary-General said that all unfavourable effects of the pandemic posed a serious challenge to the authority of the global governance system and strengthened calls for its reform: "In the current conditions, the close coordination of international organisations' activities in combatting growing threats to global and regional security is especially needed. Establishing partner relations between international organisations with similar goals and tasks is even more necessary."
In this context, Vladimir Norov stressed that Asian regional organisations should play a key role at this crucial point by joining efforts and taking an active part in the global governance reform and in the process of changing the goals and tasks of global institutions.
The SCO Secretary-General shared his view on future interaction between Asian organisations. In particular, he suggested invigorating the existing platforms involving regional organisations in order to coordinate activities intended to enhance the stability of global governance at the regional level.
He also pointed out the need for holding consultations to identify potential threats to peace, security and stability in the region and to search for ways of responding to them, as well as for engaging in multilateral cooperation to strengthen the potential of Asian organisations, including through joint thematic events on security.
Vladimir Norov informed the roundtable participants about the SCO's current activities, the priorities of Tajikistan's SCO presidency, and preparations for the SCO Heads of State Council Meeting in Dushanbe and other major conferences scheduled for this year.
The roundtable was also attended by heads of regional organisations, such as ASEAN, Trilateral Cooperation, the Asian Financial Cooperation Association, the ASEAN-China Centre and the Asia Cooperation Dialogue, as well as analytic and research institutes of China, the Republic of Korea, Cambodia and Thailand.