Initiatives to address global challenges will serve the interests of all SCO member countries

TASHKENT, Sep 04 (UzA/APP) : The meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) became a platform for defining long-term strategic directions of relations between the organization’s members and partners.
On this subject, Odiljon Mamatkarimov, Deputy Chairman of the Senate Committee on International Relations, Foreign Economic Affairs, Foreign Investments, and Tourism, shared his views.
– Issues of expanding cooperation and transit transportation between the West and the East, developing long-term programs, and advancing integration processes are becoming increasingly important, – said Mr. Mamatkarimov.
– The traditional system of international cooperation is losing its positions, while mutual trust and respect among states are declining. As President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted, the systemic crisis of confidence, the escalation of conflicts, the weakening of multilateral institutions, and the fragmentation of the global trading system are undermining the foundations of international security and stability. This negatively affects the global economy, trade, and investment flows, as well as the supply of food and energy resources, and generates geopolitical confrontations and armed conflicts. Under such conditions, the relevance of introducing large-scale rules of constructive cooperation, ensuring an equal and mutually beneficial foreign policy, and jointly addressing environmental issues is growing.
Year after year, the SCO is becoming a platform for finding practical solutions to such problems and for developing programs of common interest that benefit the region and the world. The members of this organization, possessing vast potential and capabilities in the economic, intellectual, resource, and technological spheres, account for nearly one quarter of the world’s gross domestic product. Moreover, the organization’s program of activities is based on the principles of mutual respect, support, and consideration of the national interests, values, and traditions of its member states, while mutual understanding and solidarity contribute to the consistent expansion of the SCO’s role and influence on the international stage.
Although SCO members have diverse cultural and civilizational perspectives, foreign economic and political orientations, and models of national development, they are united by shared interests and common goals. The meetings were organized based on mutual respect, equal dialogue, and partnership, and became a platform for seeking joint responses to the most complex challenges of our time.
The latest summit of the SCO Council of Heads of State was held in the People’s Republic of China. At this summit, aimed at addressing geo-economic and regional issues, wide-ranging discussions took place on further expanding cooperation among the countries of the region, jointly overcoming economic and social challenges, and ensuring peace and stability.
The Head of our State put forward several important initiatives and proposals aimed at strengthening the organization’s political foundations, expanding cooperation in the field of regional security, and developing economic, cultural, and humanitarian collaboration.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed initiatives to address pressing issues such as increasing the effectiveness of SCO institutions and expanding their membership by including countries of the Global South, adopting a declaration on nuclear security, intensifying the activities of the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group, signing an Agreement on the Simplification of Trade Procedures, creating a network of venture companies and funds along with a dedicated electronic investment portal, developing transport and transit corridors along the “North-South” and “East-West” routes, forming a Unified SCO Transport Space and linking it with the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as launching a Regional Platform on climate change adaptation, decarbonization, and the application of artificial intelligence technologies for predicting environmental risks.
Undoubtedly, all these initiatives have demonstrated that our country is a state promoting progressive and relevant ideas not only in domestic policy, but also in international relations, and have once again confirmed that Uzbekistan is an active strategic partner on both the regional and global stages.
Moreover, the multifaceted initiatives aimed at addressing regional and global challenges serve the interests not only of Uzbekistan, but of all SCO members. In short, these proposals will form the basis for expanding the SCO’s future activities and strengthening cooperation to ensure peace, stability, and sustainable development.