The 23rd Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit concluded in Islamabad on October 16, with member states emphasizing enhanced multilateral trade, economic cooperation, and e-commerce within the bloc.
Eight key agreements were signed, including the “New Economic Dialogue” development concept aimed at deepening economic cooperation among SCO nations.
The two-day event, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as the current head of the Council of Heads of Government (CHG), brought together leaders from across the bloc to discuss shared goals and strategies for the region.
The 23rd meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government formally began with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s keynote address, with representatives from China, Russia, India, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Belarus in attendance.
‘New Economic Dialogue’
“The heads of delegations, noting the presence of significant potential and opportunities for further building up trade and economic ties, stressed the importance of implementing the Concept of Cooperation in the Development of the ‘New Economic Dialogue’ between the SCO member states,” according to the joint communiqué signed by the SCO member states.
The declaration called for developing further cooperation in the spheres of politics and security, trade, economy, finance and investment, and cultural and humanitarian ties in order to build a “peaceful, safe, prosperous and ecologically clean planet Earth to achieve harmonious coexistence of man and nature.”
Who attended the SCO summit?
Chinese Premier Li Qiang was the first to arrive in Islamabad on October 14 ahead of the 23rd Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to be held in Islamabad from October 15 and 16.
Here are the names of all the prime ministers and ministers who attended the summit:
- Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang 🇨🇳
- Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin 🇷🇺
- Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif 🇵🇰
- Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene 🇲🇳
- Belarus Prime Minister Roman Alexandrovich Golovchenko 🇧🇾
- Kazakhstan Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov 🇰🇿
- Kyrgyz Prime Minister Akylbek Zhaparov 🇰🇬
- Tajikistan Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda 🇹🇯
- Turkmenistan Foreign Minister Rasit Meredow 🇹🇲
- Uzbekistan Prime Minister Abdulla Nigmatovich Aripov 🇺🇿
- Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar 🇮🇳
- Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Seyed Mohammad Atabak 🇮🇷
Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Zhang Ming also attended the summit.
China calls for expanding cooperation within SCO
During the meeting, Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday called for deepening and expanding cooperation within the SCO. The SCO is an important platform for safeguarding regional peace and stability and promoting the development and prosperity of all countries, Li stated.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang said that China stands ready to work with all parties to translate the consensus reached by the heads of state into effective actions and turn the vision into reality. Li shared four proposals for deepening the SCO cooperation.
- Strengthen strategic alignment based on missions and tasks.
- Expand practical cooperation in line with development needs.
- Focus on major risks and actively respond to them.
- Enhance people-to-people exchanges in response to public expectations.
Belt and Road Initiative and CPEC
Addressing the summit, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif highlighted the importance of infrastructure projects such as China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is now in its second phase. He emphasized that these projects, along with the International North-South Transport Corridor, should be expanded to include road, rail, and digital infrastructure development.
“Flagship projects, like the Belt and Road Initiative of President Xi Jinping, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is in its second phase, and the International North-South Transport Corridor should be expanded, focusing on developing road, rail, and digital infrastructure that enhances integration and cooperation across the region,” he continued.
“Let us not look at such projects through a narrow political prism, but invest in our collective connectivity capacity,” he stated. The prime minister called for a broader approach to economic collaboration, urging the SCO member states to promote the vision of a connected Eurasia. He also recommended the endorsement of an “Energy Cooperation 2030” strategy and the creation of an “Association of Investors” to drive future growth.
Climate change
On climate change, the premier reminded attendees of Pakistan’s devastating floods in 2022, which caused economic losses of approximately $30 billion. He advocated for collaborative simulation exercises with SCO partners to enhance disaster preparedness.
“We look forward to bolstering disaster preparedness across the region,” he said, citing Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) as a model for technology-driven disaster management.
During his speech, Prime Minister Shehbaz also touched on critical issues like poverty and climate change. He described poverty as a “moral imperative,” stressing that millions in the SCO region continue to live in hardship.
“We shall continue to provide the required impetus to a collective effort to address root causes of poverty and uplift the quality of life for our people,” he pledged.
He outlined Pakistan’s efforts, under its chairmanship of the SCO’s special working group on poverty, to conduct seminars and webinars aimed at alleviating poverty.
Beacon of multilateralism
With the SCO platform described as a “beacon of multilateralism” by PM Shehbaz, the summit highlighted the potential of the bloc to drive socio-economic progress, regional stability, and people-to-people exchanges.
“Our collaboration, joint teamwork expands academic and tourism linkages, poverty alleviation and the empowerment of women and youth across the SCO region — a reflection and commitment of our determination to promote prosperity through unity,” PM Shehbaz asserted.
Economic reforms and cooperation
Prime Minister Shehbaz stressed the importance of reforming global financial and trade regimes to foster equitable development. He supported the idea of an alternative SCO development funding mechanism to revive stalled projects and praised the growing consensus among member states to use mutual currencies for trade settlements.
“This development will shield us from global financial disruptions,” he added.
Moreover, the premier endorsed reforms to strengthen the regional anti-terrorist structure and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to fostering closer people-to-people ties across the SCO region.
Global and Regional Issues: Gaza and Afghanistan
In his closing remarks, Prime Minister Shehbaz drew attention to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, calling for an immediate ceasefire and a resolution based on pre-1967 borders.
“The international community bears the responsibility to ensure an immediate and unconditional ceasefire leading to the establishment of the State of Palestine on the basis of pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds as its capital.”
He also emphasized the need for urgent humanitarian support to Afghanistan, highlighting the trade and transit opportunities that a stable Afghanistan presents for the entire SCO region.
Indian stance on cross-border terrorism
India’s Minister for External Affairs, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, addressed the summit as well, reiterating his country’s concerns regarding cross-border terrorism. “If activities across borders are characterized by terrorism, extremism and separatism, they are hardly likely to encourage trade, energy flows, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges in parallel,” Jaishankar stated, calling for cooperation based on mutual respect, territorial integrity, and sovereignty.
At the outset of his address, Jaishankar congratulated Pakistan for its presidency of the CHG, adding, “India has extended its full support for a successful presidency.”
Next SCO summit to be held in Russia in 2025
At the conclusion of the summit, Prime Minister Shehbaz handed over the chairmanship of the CHG to Russia’s Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, pledging Pakistan’s full support for the next presidency in 2025.
The two-day summit ended with the signing of several outcome documents aimed at enhancing regional cooperation across various sectors.
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