BEIJING, China –

Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Head of the Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), Miroslav Jenča, headed the UN delegation to attend the meeting of the Council of the Heads of States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Beijing, on 6-7 June. On behalf of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the SRSG addressed the SCO summit with a message that underlined the growing role of the SCO in dealing with transnational threats to the continent of Eurasia and emphasized the importance to further develop cooperation between the UN and SCO in the interests of regional peace and stability (full text of the message attached).

On the sidelines of the summit Mr. Jenča held talks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China with Deputy Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping and also met with SCO Secretary-General Imanaliev and Vice President of the China Institute of International Studies Dr. Liu Youfa.

During the meetings an exchange of views took place on the current situation and potential developments in Central Asia, taking into account the situation in the neighboring Afghanistan. Special attention was paid to further building up regional efforts, in particular within SCO, in order to fight terrorism, extremism, organized crime, drug trafficking as well as promoting economic cooperation and interaction in various formats for the management of water and energy resources.

UNRCCA conflict prevention activities and the possibility of further support by the Chinese side for UN peacekeeping initiatives in Central Asia were also discussed.