Russia hails general public’s involvement in deepening SCO partnership - Lavrov

SOCHI, April 19. /TASS/. Russia welcomes the general public’s active involvement in the efforts to deepen partnership within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and strengthen the atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding on the vast Eurasian space, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a message of greetings to the participants in the international forum "On the Second Track. The Role of Civil Society and Public Diplomacy in Further Development and Expansion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization." "In the difficult situation in global affairs , there is an increased demand for multilateral institutions playing a stabilizing role, relying in their activities on international law and the central role of the UN," the message says. "This creative philosophy is inherent in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which is steadily establishing itself as an important element of the world order system." "The countries cooperating within the SCO are fruitfully working on a wide range of issues on the basis of respect for the common and national interests," the minister noted. "The fact that a number of countries from various regions of the world seeks to join our association as full-fledged members, observers or dialogue partners clearly demonstrates its growing authority." "We welcome the general public’s active involvement in the efforts to deepen partnership within the organization and strengthen the atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding on the vast Eurasian space," the message says. "We hope that your meeting will make its own contribution to the common work." The international forum "On the Second Track. The Role of Civil Society and Public Diplomacy in Further Development and Expansion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization" is held in Sochi on April 19-20. Taking part in it are more than 300 civil society representatives from 26 countries, including CIS member-countries. Read more