It is important for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to maintain a non-bloc status even in the current difficult conditions, stated the Acting Foreign. Minister of Uzbekistan Vladimir Norov.
Uzbekistan chairs the organization in 2022.
“Despite the challenges and difficulties that arise, it is fundamentally important for the SCO to maintain its non-bloc status,” Norov said, answering the question whether it is possible to transform the SCO into a military organization against the backdrop of growing instability.
At the same time, Norov stressed that it is now important for the SCO member states to concentrate on solving priority tasks related to strengthening the SCO's potential in the fight against new challenges and threats.
“It is necessary to speed up the practical implementation of the decision of the heads of state to improve the SCO mechanisms in the field of security, adopted at the Dushanbe summit. Uzbekistan supports the swift launch of the negotiation process on the creation of a Universal Center for Threats and Challenges to the Security of the SCO on the basis of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent, proposed by our Russian partners,” Norov said.
