On 17 September 2023, SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming met with UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo and Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Miroslav Jenca in New York City during a week of high-level meetings, part of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, and an extraordinary meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers.
Zhang Ming briefed his partners on SCO activities, including expanded cooperation to ensure security and counter terrorism. He set forth the organisation’s position on the Afghan issue and touched upon SCO reform and modernisation. He also discussed the priorities of Kazakhstan’s SCO chairmanship. Zhang Ming emphasised the importance of regular meetings with UN officials and those of specialised UN agencies. He reaffirmed the SCO’s commitment to deepening dialogue, exchanges and coordination, as well as constructive efforts to maintain security and stability in the region and the world.
In turn, Rosemary DiCarlo welcomed Zhang Ming’s arrival in New York City and praised the expanding spheres of SCO-UN collaboration, as well as positive movement in this direction. She reaffirmed the UN’s position on the Afghan issue and other matters and expressed hope that all sides would become actively involved in the process of resolving the Afghan problem by political methods, and that they would jointly facilitate stability and development in Afghanistan and the region.