SCO Secretary-General meets with EU ambassadors to discuss cooperation prospects

On 26 November 2019, SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov met with the ambassadors of the EU countries to China at the Delegation of the European Union to China.

The meeting was chaired by Head of Delegation Nicolas Chapuis and Jarno Syrjala, the ambassador of Finland, which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Ambassador Nicolas Chapuis said in his opening remarks that major changes had recently taken place at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, especially after India and Pakistan had become full members of the organisation. "The role of the SCO is especially important in light of changes in the sphere of geopolitics. The SCO Secretariat has been working energetically to strengthen the organisation's prestige on the international stage by promoting its ties with other countries and international organisations," the EU Ambassador noted.

Vladimir Norov mentioned in reply that such meetings between SCO Secretaries-General and EU ambassadors had become a good tradition and noted both sides' desire to strengthen ties between the two organisations. "SCO-EU cooperation has great potential, because our organisations have similar goals and missions. We should integrate the capabilities of the SCO and the EU to create an area of safe, stable, broad-based, open, mutually beneficial and equal cooperation in Eurasia," the SCO Secretary-General pointed out.

He told the EU ambassadors about the SCO's history, development and achievements in the fields of regional security and the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking and organised crime. "Despite growing threats, challenges and tension in some parts of the world, the SCO has maintained stability thanks to cooperation in the field of security," Vladimir Norov said.

He expressed appreciation of the EU efforts within the framework of the Central Asia Drug Action Programme (CADAP) and the Border Management in Central Asia (BOMCA) projects and proposed discussing joint events with the SCO agencies concerned.

Speaking about trade and economic cooperation, Vladimir Norov noted that the SCO's huge consumer market, large workforce, rich natural resources and developed industries could make it a global economic centre in the near future.

The SCO Secretary-General spoke in detail about the SCO countries' interaction in transport, digitalisation, ICT, green technology, agriculture and food security. He also updated the ambassadors on the SCO member states' cooperation in education, culture, science, emergency prevention and management, as well as tourism and sports.

He focused on the SCO's relations with international and regional organisations, including the UN and its agencies. Vladimir Norov noted that cooperation with the

UN and its agencies had recently become more active thanks to increasingly more regular interaction and joint events.

The EU ambassadors spoke highly about the SCO's role in many spheres and noted that the SCO Secretary-General's speech was very enlightening and useful. They inquired about the SCO's role in the implementation of China's Belt and Road Initiative, its position on the international stage and its potential in the field of regional stability and security and in the development of trade and economic ties. Vladimir Norov responded exhaustively to the ambassadors' questions.

To conclude the meeting, the SCO Secretary-General proposed discussing potential joint events involving the analytical institutions of the SCO and the EU to exchange views on the development of ties between the two organisations.

The meeting participants were provided with booklets about the SCO's activities and copies of documents regulating the SCO member states' cooperation in the fight against terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking, and the development of their trade and economic relations, as well as the declaration and the joint statements adopted at the recent meetings of the SCO heads of state and government.