..Press Release................................ UNESCAP News Services

Date 16 August 2007
Press Release No: L/45/2007

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
--
MESSAGE TO THE SEVENTH SUMMIT OF HEADS OF STATE

OF THE SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANIZATION
Bishkek, 16 August 2007

Delivered by Mr. B. Lynn Pascoe
Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs

I am honoured to convey warm greetings to the Presidents of the six Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Secretary-General of your Organization, representatives of Observer Countries, and distinguished guests at this Seventh Summit of Heads of State.

Your meeting comes at time of profound and rapidly evolving change in the geopolitical and security situation in Asia and the world. The international community is facing unprecedented threats posed by terrorism, drug trafficking, and regional conflict. Peace and stability can no longer be defined or protected by national borders.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has emerged as an important regional forum for addressing these challenges. You have been at the forefront of efforts to strengthen mutual trust, dialogue, and cooperation in a large part of Asia. Your Member States have launched concrete projects and developed important frameworks for addressing security in all its dimensions -- political, military, economic, and environmental. You are demonstrating an active commitment to fighting the global scourge of terrorism -- by taking important political, legal, and operational measures against this existential threat; by recognizing that terrorism hurts all nations, large and small, and takes its toll on people of every income, culture and religion.

At the same time, your membership is growing more interconnected, thanks to the Organization’s initiatives to improve access to technology, boost investment and trade, and develop infrastructure. In this way, you are helping nearly 1.5 billion people further realize their potential, foster peaceful growth and development, and counter the negative trends of separatism and extremism.

The more complex the challenges confronting us, the more crucial are the partnerships between the United Nations and regional organizations. I am delighted that you have developed close working contacts with several UN entities, and I know that your observer status in the General Assembly will provide further opportunities for deepening our collaboration. Our engagement on matters of peace and security holds tremendous promise. I look forward to our joint efforts to realize this potential in the months and years ahead.