Credit: Reuters photo
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called for enhancing the credibility and clout of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as an association of greater Asia for economic development and cooperation among the member states.
Putin made the remarks during a meeting with the SCO heads of government in the Kremlin after their two-day sessions, chaired by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
India was represented by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
"We all share a common goal: to enhance the credibility and clout of the SCO as one of the largest regional associations on the Eurasian continent, and indeed globally. And governments, naturally, have a special role in establishing concrete practical work and expanding the multifaceted cooperation of the organisation's member states," Putin said.
According to him, the SCO could play a more significant role not only in deepening sectoral cooperation but also in creating a favourable atmosphere on the shared continent for stable, progressive growth and multifaceted economic interaction, as well as, in practical terms, facilitating the coordination of the numerous integration projects being implemented in Eurasia.
"This is precisely the goal of Russia's concept of a greater Eurasian partnership, which entails a harmonious combination of integration processes within the Eurasian Economic Union, China's Belt and Road Initiative, and many other similar projects in which SCO countries participate," he said.
Noting the current volatile economic environment and unilateral sanctions, Putin said, "At the initiative of the Russian side and with the support of partners within the SCO, steps are being taken to expand the payment, settlement and depository infrastructure. Consultations on the establishment of the future SCO development bank, mutual recognition of credit ratings and commodity indicator systems are on the agenda."
Stable and uninterrupted payment channels are becoming vital, he said, noting that up to 97 per cent of trade among the SCO member states is conducted in national currencies.
"This is especially relevant in the current volatile economic environment amid turbulence on the global markets, unilateral sanctions and tariff restrictions, and wars,” he said.
"We should continue our joint efforts to build a comprehensive and competitive network of logistics routes throughout the vast SCO region and Eurasia as a whole," the Russian leader said.
He underscored that Russia, located at the very centre of the continent and at the intersection of key trans-European borders and trans-Eurasian trunk routes, is investing significantly in modernising its transport infrastructure.
"The volume of road, rail, and multimodal transport passing through Russian territory is growing significantly, taking into account the capacity of new promising corridors, such as the North-South corridor and the Northern Sea Route," Putin said.
Other Russian proposals to establish an SCO database of investment projects in the industrial sector are also underway, he said.
According to Putin, the creation of such a tool will expand cooperation in the industrial sector, facilitate the joint development of production capacities, import substitution and the introduction of new technologies and digital innovations, including artificial intelligence.
"Ultimately, this will help strengthen the technological sovereignty of our countries in systemically important sectors of the economy," Putin added.
The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017.
In July 2023, Iran became the new permanent member of the SCO at an India-hosted virtual summit of the grouping.