SCO SUMMIT SAMARKAND – President Shavkat’s Priorities, Catalysts in Achieving the Tasks – Pakistani Expert

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Tazeen Akhtar

Uzbekistan as the chair of Shanghai Cooperation Organization is hosting the 2022 annual summit of the  SCO Heads of State Council  on September 15-16 in Samarkand. The President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has always been highly focused on the priorities and targets to achieve in the way of the development of close cooperation between the regional nations for mutual prosperity and well being. Uzbekistan has hosted many international conferences successfully in the past and has played her role to building trust, ties and trade among the countries of Central Asia and beyond to Eurasia and South Asia. 

Now when Uzbekistan is the Chair of SCO, and hosting the heads of states, The President Shavkat is clear with a determined topical points and issues to be discussed at the heads of states council. He has outlined the priorities and tasks to achieve in this highest level meet. These include :

1- Efforts to raise the potential and authority of the organization

2-Ensure peace and stability in the region

3-Reduce poverty

4-Ensure food security

5-Development of intraregional trade,eliminating trade barriers, aligning technical regulations, digitizing customs procedures

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is  intergovernmental international organisation.It was established on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai (China) by  Kazakhstan, China,Uzbekistan,Russia,Tajikistan.The SCO Secretariat is based in Beijing and the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) is based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

It was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanism.The historical meeting of the Heads of State Council of the SCO was held on 8-9 June 2017 in Astana where full member status was granted to Pakistan and India. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia are observer states while  Azerbaijan,  Armenia,  Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey, Sri Lanka are dialogue partners.

SCO is the second largest organization in the world after UNO with respect to area and population of members states. Its main goals are strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness ; promoting effective cooperation in politics, trade,  economy, research, technology, culture,education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, and other areas; making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region; and moving towards the establishment of a democratic, fair and rational new international political and economic order.

On 2 December 2004, the 59th plenary session of the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution А/RES/59/48 (agenda item 151) entitled “Observer status for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the General Assembly.” The resolution provided the SCO with the right to participate in the sessions and work of the General Assembly as an observer.

This short introduction to the ORG can better highlight the importance of the body in the solution of the hurdles that are hindering the rise of this region since long. The member states have everything that is necessary to put the nations on the path of development but the people of the region are deprived of that for lack of connectivity, communication, language barriers, currency problems and mainly trust and confidence in one another.

The Presidents of Uzbekistan and China have taken many important steps to fill the gaps and build the trust among the members that include CPEC, BRI, Train Communication between Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Central Asian South Asian Connectivity efforts and many other measures of the leaders can multiply the trade, cooperation and direct communication between the members in near future.

This heads of states council can also go a long way to further enhancing the understanding of necessity and urgency of adoption of the recommendations put forward so far at bilateral as well as SCO level meetings and conferences so far. Moreover, the priorities suggested by the President Uzbekistan can prove to be the catalyst in achievement of the tasks. His topical recommendations can increase the efficiency and performance of the organization in achieving the goals set at the inception of this body that can pave the way to the rapid, collective development in the region. 

(The writer is Editor of Pakistan in the World International magazine and web news portal. He is Editor of Urdu Daily Newspaper in Islamabad. He has visited Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, USA and covered international conferences and events. tazeen303@gmail.com)

President of Uzbekistan Outlines the main Priorities & Tasks of SCO for Coming Period

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