Shavkat Mirziyoyev receives the newly appointed Secretary-General of the SCO

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev received the Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Vladimir Norov, who assumed this position on January 1 of this year, the presidential press service said.

The head of state especially noted that the appointment of an Uzbek representative to such a high and responsible post is a historic event. For the first time, a citizen of our country becomes the Secretary-General of an international organization.

During the meeting, the president highly appreciated the activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which has become an effective platform for an open and constructive dialogue, an effective mechanism for multidimensional interaction, as well as an important factor for security and stability in the Central Asian region.

The key role of the principles enshrined in the basic documents of the SCO, which envisage mutual respect for the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity of states and the inviolability of state borders, non-interference in internal affairs, equality, mutual trust and benefit, taking into account each other's interests and others, is underlined.

It was noted that over the past period a solid legal base of multilateral cooperation has been formed, about 30 SCO working bodies are successfully operating.

The president of Uzbekistan paid special attention to the huge unexploited potential for cooperation within the Organization.

Such priorities as security, development of cooperation in the areas of trade, economy, investment, transport communications, tourism, agriculture, and interregional cooperation were noted as main directions for further development of cooperation.

It was stressed that consistent steps are being taken in the republic to expand cooperation within the Organization, in particular, the SCO Public Diplomacy Center was established in Tashkent, and the Silk Road International Tourism University was opened in Samarkand.

At the end of the meeting, Shavkat Mirziyoyev wished Vladimir Norov success and fruitful work in the responsible post of the SCO Secretary-General.