Chinese Foreign Ministry expresses support for the new SCO Secretary General from Uzbekistan

China is confident that the new secretary general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Vladimir Norov, will make the necessary contribution to the development of the organization and is ready to support and assist him, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Friday.

Norov took office on January 1 of this year. Previously, he served as director of the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of Uzbekistan, and has the rank of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary. In 2006–2010, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan.

“The Chinese side is confident that during the period of exercising his powers, Mr. Norov will earn the trust of the leaders of the SCO countries and make the necessary contribution to the development of the organization,” said Hua Chunying at a briefing.

She stressed that China, being the location of the SCO headquarters, welcomes the arrival of the new Secretary General and will continue to provide every assistance and support to the work of the secretariat and the Secretary General.

At the SCO summit in Qingdao, China in June 2018, Vladimir Norov’s candidacy was approved for the position of secretary general of the organization for 2019-2021.

The SCO is an international organization founded in 2001 by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. At the SCO summit in Astana on June 9, 2018, the leaders of the SCO member states signed a decision on the admission of India and Pakistan to the organization. The observer countries in the organization at the moment are Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia, the partner countries are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka.