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Goals, principles of SCO grow ever more popular worldwide — group’s secretary general

Earlier this month, the title of SCO goodwill ambassador was given to Mikhail Shvydkoy, the Russian president's special envoy for international cultural cooperation

BEIJING, June 20. /TASS/. The goals and principles of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are growing ever more popular worldwide, Zhang Ming, the group’s secretary general, said in Beijing on Tuesday.

"The current international situation remains complex and is still undergoing a profound transformation, which creates new threats and challenges. Against this background, the international community's interest to the organization has not diminished but, on the contrary, has increased," he said at a ceremony to award certificates of SCO Goodwill Ambassador. ""This strongly proves that the goals and principles underlying the SCO are becoming increasingly popular around the world."

During the ceremony that marked the recent 22nd anniversary of the SCO establishment, the certificates of awarding the honorary title of SCO Goodwill Ambassador were given to representatives of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It was also announced that the title was awarded to a representative of the People's Republic of China, who was unable to attend the event for technical reasons.

Earlier this month, the title of SCO goodwill ambassador was given to Mikhail Shvydkoy, the Russian president's special envoy for international cultural cooperation.

The statute of the honorary title of SCO Goodwill Ambassador was approved last fall at the summit of the organization that was held in Samarkand. According to the declaration from the meeting, the member states made the decision due to the "importance of popularization of the goals, tasks, principles and main areas of SCO activities among the general public in the region and in the world".

The declaration establishing the SCO was signed in Shanghai in June 2001 by six states: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The organization currently also includes India and Pakistan. Observer states are Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia; dialogue partners are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey.

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