Nursultan Nazarbayev: SCO becomes successful platform for multi-disciplinary co-op

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Over the past 17 years after its establishment, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization(SCO) has gained international recognition and has become a successful platform for multi-disciplinary cooperation, the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency, Kazinform reported.

The president of Kazakhstan noted that the legal framework of the organization has been formed and is being improved constantly, and its strong institutional foundations have been created. Today SCO is an active mechanism of cooperation in such spheres as security, economy and cultural and humanitarian ties.

Speaking about the further evolution of the SCO, the President of Kazakhstan noted that the potential of the organization is not fully realized, although all the conditions necessary for this purpose have already been created in the organization. In this regard, he identified several promising areas.

Firstly, it is, of course, trade, economic and investment cooperation. In this regard, the early launch of the Development Bank and the Development Fund of the SCO special account is of particular importance.

The Kazakh side also positively considers the prospects of regional trade and economic cooperation, taking into account the integration of the projects of the SCO and EAEU countries with the Chinese global "Belt and Road" initiative. Close cooperation in this area can provide favorable conditions for the creation of a free trade zone of the SCO in the future.

Secondly, there are real opportunities for the effective promotion of transit-transport cooperation. The first step in this direction has already been taken - the Intergovernmental Agreement on creating favorable conditions for international road transport, signed in Dushanbe in 2014, entered into force in January last year.

Thirdly, it is necessary to pay attention to the need to provide the population of the SCO countries with high-quality and environmentally friendly food.

The Kazakh side expects that these and other topical issues of cooperation within the framework of the organization will be discussed in detail during the upcoming meeting of the heads of states in Qingdao.