The SCO is a factor in ensuring regional peace and stability, the organization’s Secretary General said 30.09.2020 12:11

According to the SCO Secretary General Vladimir Norov, the Shanghai cooperation organization is a serious factor in ensuring regional peace and stability and joint prosperity of the member States.

“The SCO acts as an influential and responsible participant in the modern system of international relations, increases its participation in efforts to ensure peace and security, consistently advocating the settlement of international and regional conflicts exclusively by peaceful, political and diplomatic means,” Norov said in an interview with a TASS correspondent in connection with the international day of peace celebrated on September 21.

The modern world, he noted, continues to change rapidly, and the global balance of power is being actively redistributed. In this case all the more imperative that the pursuit of peace, development, equitable and mutually beneficial cooperation, establishing a community of peace and prosperity, “the situation in global politics and the economy remains turbulent and tense process of economic globalization, faced with an increase in unilateral protectionist measures and other challenges in international trade”.

The nature of challenges and threats, he stressed, requires the development of collective approaches to combat them, as well as awareness of the impossibility of ensuring one’s own security at the expense of the security of others.

Guided by the” Shanghai spirit”, which embodies the principles of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, and respect for the diversity of cultures, member States are actively taking effective measures to promote a just international political and economic order.

In ensuring peace and security in the region, member States focus on countering international terrorism, separatism and extremism, drug trafficking, organized crime, cybercrime, as well as other challenges and threats that have acquired a cross-border nature. At the same time, the SCO is not a military-political bloc and does not seek to become an economic integrated community over national governing bodies.

The SCO countries also cooperate on issues of disarmament, control and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and arms control, peaceful use of nuclear energy, and political and diplomatic response to global and regional challenges to the non-proliferation regime.

The member States believe that one of the most important factors for preserving and strengthening peace and stability in the SCO space is the early settlement of the situation in Afghanistan.

The SCO actively cooperates with international and regional organizations in countering modern challenges and threats. Partnerships have been established with the UN and its specialized institutions, such as UNODC, the UN, as well as the CSTO, CIS, CICA and ASEAN.

The pandemic has demonstrated the close interconnectedness of the world. However, he complained, “instead of solidarity and a common fight against the threat, the world has moved from globalization to localization, and international solidarity has given way to the national interests of each country,” which negatively affects the containment of the coronavirus.

In these difficult conditions, the SCO countries have demonstrated a high level of solidarity and mutual support in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic, and the organization itself has established itself as an effective platform for countering modern challenges and security threats during the pandemic.

During the upcoming meeting of the SCO Council of heads of state, Norov said, it is planned to consider priority tasks for further strengthening peace and stability, deepening cooperation within the SCO in the context of the global political and socio-economic consequences of the new coronavirus pandemic.

Every year, on September 21, the international community celebrates the international day of peace. This year, its motto – “Achieve peace together” – reflects the goal of creating the UN.

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