On 12 January, a briefing with Saidzoda Zohir Ozod, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Tajikistan to the People's Republic of China, was held at the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Mr Ozod discussed high-priority aspects of Tajikistan's SCO chairmanship in 2021.
Attendees included permanent representatives of the SCO member states to the SCO Secretariat and over 30 journalists, as well as 25 online participants.
SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov announced the beginning of the event and noted that Tajikistan had twice chaired the SCO, namely, in 2008 and 2014, and that it had written new chapters in the history of SCO development with its initiatives and practical actions, as well as by successfully holding SCO summits the results of which opened up new horizons for diverse intra-SCO cooperation.
At the close of his opening remarks, Mr Norov unveiled a logo marking the 20th SCO anniversary. It was approved by President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, Chairman of the SCO Heads of State Council in 2020-2021.
In turn, Saidzoda Zohir Ozod, Ambassador of Tajikistan to China, noted that the Republic of Tajikistan, a SCO co-founding state, attached great significance to cooperation to maintain security and stability in the SCO region.
"We are convinced that stable peace and security in the SCO region guarantee our successful development. In this context, we will continue our joint purposeful work to combat global security challenges and threats. We believe that efforts to contain the spread of radical ideology, especially among young people, as well as the use of new technologies for criminal purposes, including online resources, also require collective action.
"Apart from cybersecurity matters, we will devote considerable attention to subsequent work to eliminate the social causes of the three evils, namely, terrorism, separatism and extremism. Challenges and threats have different causes, and this requires a separate and special approach to each of them.
Saidzoda Zohir Ozod also noted that many cultural events were scheduled to be held during the Republic's chairmanship of the SCO in 2021. "Members of the SCO Heads of State Council decided to proclaim 2021 the Year of SCO Countries' Culture during celebrations of our organisation's 20th anniversary."
On 10 November 2020, the Republic of Tajikistan assumed chairmanship of the SCO at a meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council.