On 29 February, SCO Secretariat Advisor Vladimir Zakharov gave a lecture for the Russian-Tajik Slavonic University's students and faculty at the request of the university's administration.
The SCO Secretariat Advisor spoke at length about the premises for establishing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation at the turn of the century and noted the timeliness of the decision by the leaders of the six countries to create an organisation for multidimensional cooperation amidst the growing threat of international terrorism, extremism and separatism and with due account for the Shanghai Five's agreements on measures to boost trust in military and political affairs.
Vladimir Zakharov spoke about the Organisation's principles enshrined in the Charter and institutional mechanisms of operation, the meaning of the Shanghai Spirit for a coordinated process of taking and implementing decisions in politics, security, economic and humanitarian cooperation, and the status of the member states, observers and dialogue partners. He also covered the main aspects of the SCO activity at the current stage, the roles of the SCO Heads of State Council and the SCO Heads of Government Council, as well as the responsibilities of the standing bodies, the Secretariat and the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure.
He also informed the students about the priorities of Russia's Chairmanship and preparations for the regular and anniversary summits of the Organisation to be held on 22-23 July in St Petersburg and in 2021in Dushanbe, respectively.
Questions from the students and faculty mainly concerned the SCO's role with regard to Afghanistan, the Organisation's plans to promote trade and economic cooperation, the importance of India and Pakistan joining the SCO as full members in 2017, the possibility of accepting new members, and Tajikistan's initiatives to develop multidimensional cooperation within the SCO.