UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has sent a letter to SCO Secretary-General Vladimor Norov praising the level UN-SCO relations have reached and welcoming the SCO's interest in expanding ties with the universal international organisation and its specialised institutions.
Remarking on the efforts of SCO countries to contain the coronavirus, Antonio Guterres underscored the importance of joint measures taken by the international community, acting in the spirit of solidarity, to stop the spread of COVID-19 and its destructive effects.
The UN Secretary-General expressed the hope that the call for an immediate ceasefire all over the world would be supported with the aim of ultimately bringing these wars to a close, achieving long-term political solutions and building durable peace.
Antonio Guterres praised the SCO's role in maintaining peace and stability in the region, calling the SCO a reliable partner of the United Nations that is leading regional diplomacy and actively promoting cooperation with a view to solving the most pressing security problems facing Eurasia, in particular its struggle against xenophobia, incitement of hatred and extremism.
The UN Secretary-General also noted that after the Joint Declaration on Cooperation was signed on 5 April 2010, the secretariats of both organisations have been working to expand cooperation, including by implementing joint initiatives.
SCO efforts to elevate the role of women and young people in society were also lauded. Antonio Guterres underscored the importance of continuing such efforts, believing that these groups will have an even more important role to play in restructuring the world after the pandemic.
In conclusion, the UN Secretary-General thanked the SCO member states for coordinating efforts to combat the coronavirus and stressed the importance of taking specific steps to strengthen cooperation and mutual support between the two organisations.
The SCO has been an observer at the UN General Assembly since 2005.