On 12 March 2018, SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov and Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Yuri Fedotov held a meeting at the UN headquarters in Vienna on the sidelines of the 61st session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND).
During the meeting, the parties noted that the SCO and the UNODC keep strengthening close interaction and fruitful cooperation. The officials had an in-depth exchange of views concerning the work done in 2017. They discussed the preparation and hosting of a special high-level event, the UN and the SCO in the Fight Against Drugs: Common Threats and Joint Actions, on the sidelines of the 61st session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs. "We have managed to build a solid foundation for hosting various joint events with the UN," the Secretary-General said. "I am sure that it will become a tradition."
Rashid Alimov also noted that over the last two years, the heads of the SCO and the UNODC had held six meetings. "The regularity and frequency of high-level meetings allow us to constantly stay on top of anti-drug cooperation at the global and regional levels, and to discuss the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the SCO Secretariat and the UNODC in real time."
Yuri Fedotov said that the SCO is the UNODC's privileged partner, and expressed his willingness to keep expanding cooperation with the SCO in order to effectively combat drug trafficking.
The officials also discussed the results of the two organisations' cooperation in 2017, and reiterated their mutual desire to further expand interaction in combating drug trafficking. Rashid Alimov and Yuri Fedotov agreed to take joint efforts to promote the existing potential for cooperation. The parties also discussed approaches to hosting the first Paris Pact Initiative meeting on the SCO platform.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which was established in 1997, is a UN branch with headquarters in Vienna. The UNODC coordinates the work to fight illicit trafficking in drugs and weapons, organised crime, human trafficking and international terrorism.
On 14 June 2011, the SCO Secretariat and the UNODC signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Astana. The two organisations are coordinating their joint specialist, analytical and information work, and are conducting joint activities aimed at promoting cooperation in combating drug trafficking. SCO experts are participating in all UNODC activities related to the SCO's fight against drug trafficking, including the Paris Pact Initiative's expert group meetings. Over the course of the past two years, a total of six meetings were held between the heads of the UNODC and the SCO.