On December 21, SCO Secretary General Vladimir Norov took part in the opening of the Eighth round table of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, organized by the Shanghai Institute of international studies and the CICA Secretariat.

The event was attended by senior administrative officials of the CICA Secretariat, representatives of the Chinese foreign Ministry and leading expert and analytical circles of India, Kazakhstan, China, Russia, Iran, Malaysia and South Korea.

The agenda of the meeting was to discuss the current state and prospects of Asian regional security cooperation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Norov stated that the coronavirus epidemic has demonstrated the close interconnectedness of the modern world, and, consequently, the need to develop and strengthen mechanisms for collective response to sudden threats.

In this regard, we must not allow the risks to global and regional security and stability to worsen, including in the SCO and CICA areas.

The Secretary General called for the need for inclusive depoliticized cooperation between world powers in the interests of a common cause to minimize the threat to human life and health.

The participants of the round table were informed about the results of the SCO Moscow summit on November 10, 2020, including in the context of developing joint measures to counter the threats of epidemics in the region and common approaches to combating terrorism, separatism and extremism, drug trafficking, as well as ensuring international information security.

Norov confirmed his readiness to further expand cooperation between the SCO and CICA as two partner organizations whose activities are aimed at developing joint confidence-building measures and developing cooperation in the Asian region.

A source