SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov took part in the 15th meeting of Security Council Secretaries of SCO Member States, which was held on 15 September, 2020 via videoconference.
In his video address, Mr Norov said that during the SCO Russia's chairmanship, the SCO made a timely emphasis on consolidating its leading positions in countering the current challenges and threats in Eurasia.
Speaking about the need to ensure international security, Mr Norov emphasised that the SCO continues to pay considerable attention to the problems of the growing merge of terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking and cross-border organised crime. He recalled that the joint event of the UN and the SCO was devoted to this problem in New York last November.
In addition to this, against the backdrop of the mounting epidemiological risks linked with the threat of bio terrorism, the spread of destructive ideas and the invigoration of the recruitment by terrorist organisations, the participation of the SCO Secretariat during this summer's UN Virtual Counter-Terrorism Week was of substantial importance.
Special attention was paid to the need to enhance the authority of the SCO in countering drug trafficking. Mr Norov praised the results of the joint operation Spider Web, and the successful holding by the SCO Secretariat of the undertakings in cooperation with the Paris Pact Initiative and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
Speaking about the need to ensure information security and counter new challenges and threats, the SCO Secretary-General reported that during such a pandemic more attention is required to enhance the coordination of the relevant positions of the SCO member states on a common multilateral platform.
Mr Norov spoke about the SCO plans for the near future. He said that the SCO is preparing to adopt at its next summit joint statements by the heads of state of its members on cooperation in ensuring international information security, countering the drug threat and the spread of terrorist and extremist ideology, including its dissemination via the internet. To strengthen the collective system of response to sudden health risks, the SCO member states coordinated a comprehensive plan of action against epidemics, which provides for joint research, and the development of vaccines and effective methods of treating diseases.
In conclusion, the SCO Secretary-General expressed his confidence that the results of the meeting will give an additional impetus to the cooperation of the SCO member states in ensuring regional security and will facilitate productive discussions
at the session of the Heads of State Council that will take place in November this year.
Video address by SCO Secretary-General (Russian language only)
