SCO assigns high priority to information security issues - secretary general

BEIJING, March 20. /TASS/. The information security issues occupy a significant place in the activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), SCO Secretary General Vladimir Norov told reporters at a news conference in the Chinese capital on Wednesday. "The information security problem occupies a significant place in the SCO’s activities, with considerable attention paid to the issue in the strategy for the organization’s development until 2025," he said. According to Norov, the document, "in particular, points to the need to step up cooperation in the field of control over the Internet and foil attempts to use it in activities that undermine security and stability in the region." According to the secretary general, "to achieve these goals, it is necessary to improve the cooperation mechanism in the fight against the use of information and communication technologies for terrorist purposes and in countering cyber threats to the security of the SCO member-states." Norov also noted that the information security issue is particularly relevant today. "All of us witnessed events in New Zealand, a series of massacres, which were designated [as] terrorist attacks," he explained. "New Zealand’s authorities have already urged the world community to tighten control and prevent the use of the Internet to spread the ideology of terrorism and violence." According to the secretary general, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization pays particular attention to the problem, with security issues discussed during SCO meetings. The Declaration on the Establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was singed in China’s Shanghai in June 2001 by six founding states - Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan were granted full SCO membership on June 9, 2017. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia currently enjoy observer status, while Sri Lanka, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia and Nepal are dialogue partners. Read more