PRESS RELEASE on the 17th Meeting of the Prosecutors General of the SCO Member Countries

On 1 October 2019, Bishkek, the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic, hosted the 17th Meeting of the Prosecutors General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's Member States. Taking part in the meeting were: Additional Solicitor General of India at the Supreme Court of India Pinky Anand, Prosecutor-General of the Republic of Kazakhstan Gizat Nurdauletov, Deputy Prosecutor-General at the Supreme People's Procuratorate (Prosecutor-General's Office) of the People's Republic of China Wang Chung, Prosecutor-General of the Kyrgyz Republic Otkurbek Jamshitov, Charge d'Affaires ad Interim of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in the Kyrgyz Republic Tariq Ali, First Deputy Prosecutor-General of the Russian Federation Alexander Buksman, Deputy Prosecutor-General of the Republic of Tajikistan Muhammad-Ibrohim Osimzoda, Prosecutor-General of the Republic of Uzbekistan Nigmatilla Yuldashev, Deputy SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Akkoshkarov, and Director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) Jumakhon Giyosov.

Attendees also included prosecutors-general from SCO observer states, including Prosecutor-General of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Konyuk, Prosecutor-General of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mohammed Jafar Montazeri and Deputy Prosecutor-General of Mongolia Maxim Chinbat, as well as Prosecutors-General from SCO dialogue-partners, including Prosecutor-General of the Republic of Armenia Artur Davtyan, Prosecutor-General of the Republic of Turkey Mehmet Akarca, Executive Secretary of the Coordinating Council of Prosecutors-General of States, Members of the Commonwealth of Independent States Leonid Yermolayev and President of the International Association of Prosecutors Cheol- Kyu Hwang.

During the meeting, the heads of the delegations discussed ways of improving collaboration between prosecutors' offices of SCO member states in combating contraband and illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors.

The heads of the delegations from prosecutor-generals' offices of SCO member states:

— comprehending the need for further consolidating efforts and ensuring more efficient collaboration in the activities of prosecutors' offices of SCO member states;

— noting the importance of efficient collaboration in countering the illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors as an important aspect of combating transnational organised crime;

— expressing serious concern over the large-scale spread of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors in the region and related trends;

— aspiring to collaborate and aiming to consolidate the potential of neighbourliness and cooperation between SCO member states;

— guiding themselves by the provisions of the Charter of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the SCO Development Strategy until 2025, the Bishkek Declaration of the SCO Heads of State Council (HSC) of 14 June 2019, the Anti-Narcotics Strategy of SCO Member States for 2018-2023 and the Action Plan to implement it, the SCO Concept to Prevent the Abuse of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, the Cooperation Agreement between SCO Member States on Combating Illegal Trafficking of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and their Precursors of 17 June 2004, as well as the UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 20 December 1988 and other international treaties to which SCO member states are parties,

1. To consolidate international cooperation in countering the illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors, including extradition matters and legal assistance on the relevant criminal cases, while actively using all collaboration mechanisms that are available to the prosecutors of the SCO member states.

To create the required conditions for providing more effective legal assistance on criminal cases as regards the illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs and related crimes, including searching for, identifying, tracking, freezing, seising and confiscating assets that have been obtained through criminal activity in this category, while ensuring compliance with the principles and standards of international law and national legislation.

2. To continue exchanging regulatory legal acts, references, methodological, analytical information, scientific and other materials in the area of combating the illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors.

3. To expand collaboration between secondary and higher education organisations, if any, of prosecutors' offices in the SCO member states in the area of training prosecutors who are duly empowered to counter the illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors and improving their professionalism.

4. To expand cooperation with prosecutors' offices in the SCO observer states and those of the SCO dialogue-partners and to expand collaboration with specialised agencies of the regional and international organisations in countering the illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors.

5. To hold bilateral and multilateral events on countering the illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors and to take part in them.

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The member states praised the Kyrgyz Republic for organising this meeting and thanked the Kyrgyz side for its traditionally warm hospitality.

The Republic of Uzbekistan is to host the next Meeting of the Prosecutors General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's Member Countries in the autumn of 2020.