On 6 June 2023, SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming had a conversation with Russian Presidential Representative for International Cultural Cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoi, who arrived in Beijing.

Russian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to China Igor Morgulov, SCO Deputy Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev and Russian Permanent Representative to the SCO Secretariat Natalia Stepkina took part in the meeting.

During the conversation, the sides discussed topical issues of cultural, political and diplomatic cooperation and that in other spheres. They also discussed the implementation of various intra-SCO projects in great detail.

That same day, Zhang Ming presented Mikhail Shvydkoi with a certificate conferring the honourable title of SCO Goodwill Ambassador on him. Ambassadors, permanent representatives of SCO member states, representatives of Chinese state agencies, and senior SCO Secretariat officials and staffers took part in the ceremony.

In 2021, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed instituting the honourable title of SCO Goodwill Ambassador in the SCO.

In 2022, during the SCO Heads of State Council Meeting in Samarkand, the leaders of SCO member states approved the relevant statute listing the main powers and functional duties of an SCO Goodwill Ambassador and the financial regulations governing their activities.

In May 2023, Panaji hosted the SCO Foreign Ministers Council Meeting. Acting in line with proposals by the concerned SCO member states, the meeting participants decided to confer the honourable title of SCO Goodwill Ambassador on representatives of Russia, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan up to May 2026.

On June 20, Beijing will host an official ceremony to present certificates conferring the honourable title of SCO Goodwill Ambassador to the first group of representatives of SCO member states at a reception marking SCO Day.

Photo: sectsco.org