UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has confirmed his participation in the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit scheduled to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, on July 3-4. In an interview with TASS First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman, Guterres emphasized the importance of regional organizations like the SCO in complementing the efforts of the United Nations.
"I am going to the Shanghai Cooperation Council summit in the week after this interview," Guterres stated, stressing the collaborative role that organizations such as SCO, BRICS, the African Union, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation play as essential partners of the UN.
Guterres emphasized the crucial role of regional organizations in tackling global challenges, particularly where the United Nations faces limitations. He pointed out reform that permits the Security Council to mandate peace enforcement and counterterrorism operations carried out by partners, such as the African Union. These operations are financially supported by the UN through assessed contributions, addressing the UN's own incapacity to execute such tasks independently.
"One of the reforms we've managed to have was exactly to allow the Security Council to mandate peace enforcing and counterterrorism operations done by partners - namely the African Union - but with assessed contributions with the financial support of the UN, because the UN was unable to do it," he explained.
The SCO, established on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai, initially comprised Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan joined in 2017, with Iran becoming a full-fledged member in July 2023. Belarus is expected to join during the upcoming Astana summit.
The summit in Astana is set to convene heads of several international organizations, including SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming, to discuss regional cooperation and strategic initiatives.
Follow Daryo's official Instagram and Twitter pages to keep current on world news.
Comments (0)