Uzbekistan is chairing at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization at present. Active preparations for conducting the meeting of the SCO Council of heads of state and other events on the highest level are underway in Uzbekistan.
By Vladimir Norov, Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and the EU Brussels.
It is deeply symbolic that this conscientious mission concurs with the 15th anniversary of foundation of the SCO. Mass-scale and consistent works, carried out in Uzbekistan, during the period of chairmanship serves to increase the authority of this organization, improving its activities, strengthening peace and security in the region.
It should be noted that in Uzbekistan ever-changing times the role and impact of the SCO in solving topical issues, ensuring security, stability and sustainable development has been growing. It is noteworthy that in the summit meetings of the SCO a particular attention is paid to strengthening mutual trust and good neighborliness among the member-countries of the SCO, developing close collaboration in political, trade, economic, scientific, technical, cultural and humanitarian spheres, in ensuring peace, security and stability in the region.
Uzbekistan, which is one of the founders of the organization, as the chairman intends to strictly abide by the principles of continuity, as well as the consistent advancement of mutually beneficial cooperation that meets the interests of all members of the structure. In particular, Uzbekistan was in favor of further strengthening the role of the SCO as an effective institution on withstanding such threats for global and regional security as terrorism, religious extremism, separatism, drug and weapons trafficking, transnational organized crime.
In strengthening practical cooperation in the fight with these challenges and threats for security, our country attaches great significance to further improve the activities of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) of the SCO, established in 2004 in Tashkent to coordinate the collaboration of Member States in this direction.
Uzbekistan also supports the preservation of the chosen course of the SCO according to which its activities are not directed against the interests of other countries, and this is enshrined in the Charter and other founding documents of the organization. Stressing the importance of elimination of bloc thinking and prevent transformation of the SCO into a military-political alliance the President of our country Islam Karimov also said about it on the Ufa summit in 2015. President of Uzbekistan also specifically noted the need for further strengthening the commitment to the main principles and goals.
The tenth meeting of the Council of heads of state of the SCO member-states on 11 June 2010 took its place in the history of the organization in relation to wide discussion of these issues.
Alongside the heads of state of the SCO member-states, observers and states, invited by Uzbekistan, high-ranking officials from the UN, CIS and other international organizations took part at the meeting.
The agenda of 2010 SCO Tashkent summit included the issues of improving the activity of the organization and its bodies, further development of cooperation among member-states in political, trade, economic and humanitarian spheres, in joint fight against terrorism, religious extremism and separatism, narcotics and weapons trafficking, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, in strengthening regional security and stability as well as the situation in Afghanistan.
The President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov in his speech underlined that deeply thought-out, consistent and targeted process of development and increasing the authority of the SCO at an international arena, strengthening the role and opportunities of the Organization in achieving key goals- strengthening peace, stability and security, ensuring sustainable economic growth, enhancing cooperation in humanitarian and social spheres has been underway.
Establishing partner relations with international organizations has been an important step in the SCO development. The joint declaration on cooperation between the secretariats of the UN and the SCO, signed during the visit of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to our country in April 2010, became an important document, laying the foundation of interactions of the SCO with this international organization.
In the epoch of globalization and intensification of various threats, no single problem could be solved by a single state.
In this regard cooperation of the SCO and the UN has opened wide road for joint activities in solving significant problems for the whole humanity. Such UN bodies as the Economic and social commission for Asia and the Pacific, Office on drugs and crime, have fruitful interaction with the SCO.
Uzbekistan pays a special attention to multilateral trade and economic cooperation. In particular, the issues of transport communications have been acknowledged as a priority direction. In this regard the possibilities of Navoi free industrial-economic zone have been productively utilized. During the implementation of new joint projects in Central Asia, widening of construction of industrial enterprises, automobile roads, railways and air-transport communications, the significance of Navoi FIEZ will also rise.
Currently the main factor of sustainable development is not only extraction and processing of raw materials, but also organization of high-tech production, production of goods with high added value. In this regard Uzbekistan pays a particular attention to development and implementation of joint projects.
At the 2010 Tashkent summit of heads of state of SCO member-states, the issues of developing interaction and sharing of information among financial institutions, banks, exchanged. In order to widen the scales of regional cooperation, the participants shared views on the issues of eliminating barriers for developing trade-economic relations, supporting and stimulating direct contacts between entrepreneurs. Development of investment cooperation in transport and communications, agriculture, high-tech spheres have been acknowledged as priorities.
During the event, exchange of opinions on priority directions of multilateral strategy of cooperation within the frameworks of the SCO, minimizing negative impact and liquidating consequences of the financial-economic crisis, the issues of cooperation in economic and social spheres. Urgent regional and international issues were also high on the agenda. Participation of representatives of international organizations, alongside the heads of state of the SCO member-states and delegations of observer-states, demonstrate the importance and significance of these discussed issues.
During the meeting the situation in Central Asian region, the issues of security, including ensuring information security, joint combat again information threats, were discussed in detail.
The Tashkent declaration was adopted, the SCO rules of procedure and Regulations on the order of accepting new members to the Organization were approved at the summit. These documents are significant for development of the SCO and its members.
Uzbekistan’s determination of the SCO development strategy, its active position on many issues of international politics have yielded positive results. Wide-scale and consistent activity of Uzbekistan during the chairmanship period of the organization has played an important role in the success of 2010 Tashkent summit. Uzbekistan carried out a significant work on widening cooperation among the SCO member-states, increasing the international status of the organization. This was acknowledged by the SCO member-states. Last SCO summit held in Tashkent 23-24 June 2016.
In general, chairmanship of Uzbekistan at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has a special significance for the organization’s development and further growth of its authority at international arena. This serves to strengthen and elevate to a qualitatively new level the cooperation among the SCO member-states to ensure peace, stability and progress in the region.
