Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Zhang Ming urged to strengthen cooperation in various sectors as well as continue work on improving and reforming the SCO based on strengthening internal unity in line with the trend of the time. He said this on Wednesday in his address to a roundtable discussion marking the 20th anniversary of the signing of the SCO Charter.
"As it enters its third decade, the SCO faces new conditions and challenges," he said. According to him, "today's world is undergoing complex and profound changes, the international political and economic order, as well as the security architecture are facing various crises, putting the world and its development before very serious challenges."
"Swimming against the current, if you are not moving forward, you are backsliding. In this situation, how should the SCO continue the paradigm of the past 20 years of successful work? How can we continue to play a key role in ensuring peace and stability in the region and the security and well-being of every member of the larger SCO family?" - Zhang Ming continued. He also noted that, with these aspects in mind, he recently visited the organization's founding states and intends to visit the rest of the SCO family in the near future for a constructive exchange of views.
"We can say that the ideas and opinions of all parties are inseparable from the common starting point of the SCO," the secretary-general continued. "That is, we need to continue to adhere to the principle of strictly promoting the goals and objectives of the Charter, strengthening 'internal unity,' and on the basis of this continue to work to improve and reform the organization as required by the times, and to strengthen cooperation in various fields," he pointed out.
Regional security
Zhang Ming said the principles laid down two decades ago in the foundation of the SCO Charter have helped establish the organization in the international legal system and make it an important force for regional security.
"The signing and promulgation of the SCO Charter was a historic decision taken by the leaders of the SCO member states. It was an important choice aimed at promoting peace and stability, deepening good-neighborly and friendly relations, marking the SCO's establishment in the system of international law, making it an important force for regional security, stability and peace," the secretary-general said.
"Over the past 20 years, as the international situation has changed, the relevance, timeliness and strategic importance of this decision has become increasingly evident," he pointed out.
As Zhang Ming emphasized, "it is the Charter that unites countries from different regions, with different civilizational traditions and development systems."
"Through the gradual improvement of the legal framework and the formation of an effective mechanism of interaction, by building mutual understanding and mutually beneficial cooperation for peace, stability and common development, the Charter has created a new model of joint activities for the countries of the Shoshone region to strengthen multilateral dialogue and exchange experience on practical interaction," he noted.
New challenges
SCO countries should follow the principles of the organization's Charter and respond to challenges based on shared values, regardless of the challenges and threats of the day, Zhang Ming said.
"Regardless of what new situations, threats and challenges we face today, we need to follow the principles of the Charter and respond to problems based on shared values," he said. "I see this as an unwavering approach to threats and challenges that gives us the best solution to future self-improvement," the secretary-general pointed out.
He also noted that "a turbulent and changing world is full of threats, but it also contains new opportunities." "As one of the largest regional organizations in the world in terms of territory and population, with international influence, appeal and authority, the organization must take the initiative to improve itself and actively influence the international order in order to steer the world order in a more democratic, just and rational direction, meeting the expectations of all sides of the SCO family," Zhang Ming concluded.
The declaration establishing the SCO was signed in Shanghai in June 2001 by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In 2017, India and Pakistan became full members of the SCO.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS