Toqayev Calls for UN Reform in Second SCO Summit Speech

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit continued in Tianjin, China, shifting in the afternoon to the expanded “SCO Plus” format, Orda.kz reports.

Kazakh President Qasym-Jomart Toqayev addressed the gathering for a second time that day.

Much of his evening speech overlapped with remarks delivered earlier, touching again on the approaching 80th anniversary of victory in World War II, and on cooperation in transport, economy, and environmental protection.

However, Toqayev introduced a distinct theme in the later session, calling for reform of the United Nations:

In today’s complex geopolitical realities we must uphold the UN as a universal and independent organization. At the same time, the need has matured for reform of the UN, first and foremost its key body — the Security Council. We fully realize the complexity of such reform, but there is no other way. If the current generation of leaders refuses to undertake this task, it may finally and irreversibly undermine states’ trust in the UN.

He also reminded participants that the “SCO Plus” format was first launched at last year’s summit in Astana.

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