SCO Secretariat hosts friendly meeting of SCO family ambassadors

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, on 17 January 2020, a friendly dinner was held at the SCO Secretariat to mark the end of Ambassador of Belarus to China Kirill Rudy's ambassadorship.

In his welcoming address, SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov noted that the Republic of Belarus, which was a dialogue partner from 2009 to 2015 and has been an observer state at the SCO since 2015, is an active member of the SCO family. From the first year of cooperation between the SCO and Belarus, Minsk and the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in China showed a desire to work together in all key areas and strengthen the SCO's authority on the regional and international stage.

The Secretary-General quoted Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's opinion, voiced in June 2019 during the Bishkek summit, that the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, by virtue of its political influence and economic capacity, has fully matured, so that it can more actively and resolutely contribute to building international politics based on peace, mutual respect and equality.

Noting the country's significant transit, industrial and scientific capacity, the Secretary-General emphasised that Belarus is the only SCO observer state that has joined the Agreement between the Governments of the SCO Member States on Creating Favourable Conditions for International Road Transport. In this context, he mentioned the major contribution of Ambassador Kirill Rudy, since it was the Embassy of Belarus to China that played an active role in promoting this issue.

In addition, Mr Norov stated that the Embassy is always actively involved in implementing practical initiatives and various projects of the SCO Secretariat.

"The Belarusian diplomatic mission in China, led by Mr Rudy, not only actively cooperated with us but also contributed to the creative agenda of the Secretariat with cultural projects. A brilliant example was the Day of Culture of the Republic of Belarus at the SCO Secretariat on 10 January 2017, which provided an opportunity for all participants and guests to get acquainted with the rich history and culture of the Belarusian people, as well as to learn about the achievements of modern Belarus.

"His proposals, voiced in November last year during a meeting with heads of diplomatic missions of the SCO observer states and SCO dialogue partners, in the field of information technology and on the cultural and humanitarian aspects of the SCO, deserve to be given much attention and put into practice.

"I am more than confident that in his new post, Mr Rudy will continue to contribute to the SCO development and the strengthening of the ‘Shanghai spirit,'" said Mr Norov.

At the end of his speech, Secretary-General Norov handed a letter of gratitude to Ambassador Rudy in appreciation of the fruitful cooperation.

In turn, Kirill Rudy noted that the Republic of Belarus attaches great importance to further strengthening cooperation with the SCO and expressed gratitude to the SCO Secretariat and the SCO family ambassadors for the fruitful cooperation during his tenure in China.

The event was attended by the Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Kingdom of Cambodia, as well as the Charges d'Affairs ad Interim of Mongolia and Nepal to China.

The special guests of the event were Mr Li Hui, the Chinese Government's Special Envoy on Eurasian Affairs, and Mr Zhang Deguang, First SCO Secretary-General and Honorary Chairman of the China Foundation for International Studies.