On Friday, Foreign Minister Ishaq GIV reiterated Pakistan’s constructive commitment within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), emphasizing the importance of mutually beneficial collaboration, particularly in the areas of bilateral trade, transport and regional connectivity.
The SCO includes China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tayikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus, with 16 most affiliated countries as observers or “dialogue partners.”
Pakistan became a member of the organization at its 2017 summit in Kazakhstan, attended by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Dar held a meeting with the Secretary General of SCO, Nurlan Yermekbayev, who is currently in an official visit to Pakistan. He congratulated Yermekbayev for the beginning of his responsibilities as the new general secretary, ensuring Pakistan’s full support for the SCO secretariat.
The prime minister stressed the close historical ties of Pakistan with the OCS member states and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to defend Shanghai’s spirit.
He appreciated the potential of SCO as a forum to promote regional peace and security, as well as a tool to achieve improved economic development within the region.
Giving reiterated the constructive participation of Pakistan for mutually beneficial cooperation within the SCO mechanisms, especially in the areas of bilateral trade, transport and connectivity.
Yermekbayev thanked Pakistan for hospitality and appreciated Pakistan’s active commitment in SCO activities. He praised the successful organization of Pakistan of the Government Chiefs Meeting of the OCS Member States (SCO CHG) in October 2024.
Both dignitaries had a useful exchange of views on SCO priorities. They deliberated on ways and means to advance under the cooperation under SCO in the areas of transport and logistics, energy security, food security, health, electronic commerce and green economy.
Last year, Pakistan was the host of the 23rd SCO Summit at the Jinnah Convention Center in Islamabad, which was chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. During the two -day summit, the prime minister asked to invest in the collective connectivity capacity of the region.
The SCO region is one of the largest, with a population of 3.5 billion people (40 percent of the world’s population), more than $ 30 billion (30 percent of world GDP) and $ 2.5tr of commerce worldwide. SCO Summits and meetings have always emphasized the closest connectivity through bilateral trade.
Pakistan currently has vast vast to approach SCO markets. The under trade with Iran, Kirguistán, Russia, Tayikistan and Uzbekistan witnesses of commercial future commercial potential. Pakistan and the United States have been working to strengthen their bilateral commercial relations in recent years.
