To the entire SCO: the "ten" will increase mutual trade and investment

The heads of government of the SCO countries approved a joint communique in Moscow, which focuses on deepening economic ties. An action plan for trade and economic cooperation for 2026-2030 and decisions on the organization's budget for 2026 were also approved. The SCO has long ceased to be an organization that deals exclusively with security issues, experts emphasize. At the expanded meeting, the heads of government discussed the development of artificial intelligence, the de-dollarization of mutual settlements and the risks of trade wars. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin recalled that the countries of the association already account for about a third of global GDP. The SCO's traditional agenda, the fight against terrorism and other transnational threats, also passed through a separate block. The results of the meeting in the Russian capital can be found in the Izvestia article.

Joint Communique of the SCO members

The 24th meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has ended in Moscow at the Rossiya National Center. This was the final event under the chairmanship of the Russian Federation. Besides Russia, the meeting was attended by delegations from nine SCO member states — Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. High-level representatives of the dialogue partner States, interested countries, executive bodies of a number of international organizations and associations were also present.

Following the meeting, a joint communique was signed. The countries confirmed their commitment to the phased and comprehensive implementation of the SCO Development Strategy until 2035. The document recorded the common position of the member States in protecting the multilateral trading system and their willingness to increase mutual trade and investment. In addition, actions on trade and economic cooperation for 2026-2030 were consolidated.

The priorities are cooperation in the fields of digitalization, artificial intelligence, energy, the "green economy" of innovation, as well as the expansion of cultural and humanitarian ties.

A few years ago, the SCO's strategy changed, Vadim Kozyulin, head of the Institute of Current International Issues at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, noted in a conversation with Izvestia. If earlier it was stated that this organization was created to fight separatism, terrorism and extremism, now its members have other concerns — economy, trade, humanitarian cooperation.

— Development strategies up to 2035 have been drawn up accordingly, and these policy directions are periodically detailed at such meetings. The maps, the main directions are checked and what the parties agreed on earlier is clarified," the expert said.

In particular, in Moscow, the SCO countries agreed on amendments to the Agreement on the procedure for forming and executing the Budget of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The document allows countries to pay annual contributions to the organization's budget not only in US dollars, but also in other currencies.

Extended meeting

The signing of the communique was preceded by an expanded SCO meeting led by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. China was represented by Premier of the State Council Li Qiang, India by Foreign Minister Subramanian Jaishankar, Pakistan by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. The heads of the Iranian and Belarusian delegations were First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref and Prime Minister Alexander Turchin.

Prime Ministers Olzhas Bektenov, Adylbek Kasymaliev, Kohir Rasulzoda and Abdulla Aripov, respectively, participated in the meeting from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The Prime Minister of Mongolia, Gombozhavyn Zandanshatar, was present in the observer country format.

The head of the Russian Cabinet stressed that in 2024, the total exports of the SCO member states amounted to about 20% of the global figure, and the share of the organization's participants in global GDP reached a third. By the end of this year, according to forecasts, it will grow to 35%.

— To implement joint plans, a reliable independent financial infrastructure is required. Its improvement will be handled by a special expert group, which is being created on the initiative of Russia," Mikhail Mishustin said.

The meeting also discussed pressing issues. During his speech, Li Qiang recalled the high tariffs that have severely affected the "trade and economic order" in the world. According to him, artificial intelligence is the heritage of all mankind, and any attempts to establish an artificial barrier that prevents development and technological exchange will worsen the already difficult situation in the world.

He was probably talking about the export restrictions that the United States imposes on chip manufacturing companies that cooperate with China. For example, Nvidia and AMD are allowed to export only low-power graphics cards to China. Also, many Chinese firms are included in the special Entity List of the US Department of Commerce and cannot access American goods and technologies.

The topic of artificial intelligence was also raised by the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov. In his opinion, the SCO is becoming a flagship in the development of AI, and proposed the establishment of a permanent SCO expert forum on AI. The first meeting is to be held within the framework of the Digital Bridge International Forum in Astana.

Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar recalled the original idea of the SCO, which is to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism.

— These threats have become especially serious in recent years. It is extremely important that the world shows that it does not tolerate terrorism in any form or manifestation. There should be no justification for terrorism and no whitewashing of terrorism," he said.

It really is. The SCO Charter implies that among the main goals of the member States is to jointly ensure peace, security and stability in the region, as well as the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking. The association initially grew out of the Shanghai Five format, which dealt with border security and confidence-building in the military field.

The SCO, as the world's largest trans-regional association, plays a growing role in maintaining peace, security and stability in Eurasia, SCO Secretary General Nurlan Yermekbayev told Izvestia.

"As one of the key centers of the Global South, the SCO, striving to build a more representative, democratic, just and multipolar world order, is becoming a powerful driving force behind the formation and reform of the global governance system," he added. — As stated by the heads of the member states in the Tianjin Declaration, cooperation within the SCO can serve as the basis for the formation of an architecture of equal and indivisible security in Eurasia.

The SCO is becoming a platform for member States to put forward a wide variety of ideas and proposals in the field of international security. One of them is the Russian-Belarusian initiative to build a Eurasian security architecture.

— We are organizing relevant events at the secretariat's site and distributing documents on this topic among the member States, one of which is the Joint Vision of the Eurasian Charter of Diversity and Multipolarity in the 21st Century. In our contacts with the heads of the foreign ministries of the SCO member states, we are talking about actively studying this initiative, which has also been submitted for consideration to partners from ASEAN," said the Secretary General of the organization.

Multipolarity in the modern world is characterized by the formation of new centers of influence, and the SCO is one of such important centers, Kozyulin stressed. The organization is an instrument of economic development and political influence, so its importance will continue to grow.