Samarkand hosts SCO Plus Expert Dialogue on Security Issues
The first SCO Plus Expert Dialogue on Security Issues opened in Samarkand on November 6, 2026, bringing together heads of intelligence and security services from member states, observer states and dialogue partners of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
At the opening of the event, Viktor Makhmudov, Secretary of the Security Council under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, read out a welcoming address from President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the participants.
In his address, the President noted that the global situation is marked by geopolitical tensions, deepening divisions and escalating armed conflicts. Against this backdrop, information security, the protection of critical infrastructure and strengthening states’ resilience to new forms of disruptive threats have become increasingly important.
The address emphasized that while the development of digital technologies opens up vast opportunities for progress, it also creates fundamentally new vulnerabilities. In particular, cyberspace has become a key arena of confrontation, where cyberattacks, manipulation of public opinion and disinformation are increasingly being used alongside traditional methods of exerting influence.
Internet platforms have become tools for spreading radical ideologies, recruiting new followers, raising funds and forming extremist networks that operate across national borders.
“Under these circumstances, young people remain particularly vulnerable. Destructive forces deliberately target young people, draw them into their networks, exploit social divisions and spread ideas of intolerance”, the President’s address states.
Addressing the participants, the President of Uzbekistan emphasized that the SCO’s ability to respond promptly to emerging challenges and contribute effectively to building a more stable world depends largely on well-coordinated cooperation among its member states’ intelligence and security services.
UzA
