The 24th summit of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), chaired by Kazakhstan, took place on July 4 in the capital, Astana, where the leaders adopted the Astana Declaration, as well as approximately 25 documents and statements from the Heads of State, including the Initiative on World Unity for a Just Peace, Harmony, and Development, which was supported by SCO members.
The SCO has become an effective mechanism of interstate relations, operating on the basis of the “Shanghai spirit” of friendship, good neighborliness, equality, and mutual support, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said, speaking at the summit titled “Strengthening Multilateral Dialogue – Striving Towards a Sustainable Peace and Prosperity.”
“More than three billion people live in the SCO space. The organization includes the world’s largest and fastest-growing economies, accounting for a third of global GDP. This clearly demonstrates the enormous potential and global role of our organization,” Tokayev said, reminding that during Kazakhstan’s chairmanship, approximately 150 events at various levels were held, including digital, tourism, energy, and business forums, as well as the SCO Youth Council.
“President Tokayev is very keen to promote Kazakhstan as both a geopolitically neutral country and also the main power in Central Asia,” Chris Weafer, CEO and General Director of Macro-Advisory, the leading independent strategic business consultancy in the Eurasia region, told NE Global on July 5. “Hosting such major events, as the SCO summit, helps broadcast that message, including to the U.S. and EU. It is also good politics and good business; the former because it prevents either China and Russia becoming too influential in Kazakh affairs and, the latter because it means that Moscow and Beijing need to continue to invest heavily in the country so as not to lose position against the other and to keep the West as the junior partner,” Weafer added.
The juxtaposition of the SCO Summit and the upcoming NATO Summit in Washington (July 9-11) will be noticed by many observers, although the organizations are completely different in scope and substance and there is little overlap in membership, except for Turkey.
Sixty new documents were prepared, including the Anti-Drug Strategy, the Plan for the Implementation of the Economic Cooperation Strategy, the Agreement in the Field of Environmental Protection, and the Strategy for the Development of Energy Cooperation. The circle of international organizations partnering with the SCO has expanded. The activities of the Special Working Group on Investments have resumed, and the transition to settlements in national currencies has gained momentum.
The Kazakh leader added that Kazakhstan has fully fulfilled all the goals and objectives stated at the previous summit.
Speaking to the participants of the summit, President @TokayevKZ noted that the SCO has become an effective mechanism for inter-state relations based on the "Shanghai Spirit" of friendship, good neighborliness, equality, and mutual support. https://t.co/PhlSNFpDed
— Erzhan Kazykhan (@ErzhanKazykhan) July 4, 2024
Tokayev outlined key areas of strategic importance for all countries of the “Shanghai Ten,” including strengthening mutual trust and cooperation in the field of security, expanding trade and economic relations, enhancing transport connectivity by creating efficient corridors and reliable supply chains, and the need to reform and modernize the SCO.
“The ongoing process of expanding the Organization opens up new opportunities and gives impetus to its development. Our country, as chair of the SCO, presented balanced proposals for transforming the Organization into an even more effective multilateral cooperation mechanism. In particular, we advocate strengthening the role of the SCO Secretariat and the Secretary General,” the Kazakh President emphasized.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who also participated in the inaugural SCO+ format meeting, highlighted Kazakhstan’s important voice in the UN. “I think we need to recognize that when Kazakhstan acts in favor of peace, when Kazakhstan acts in bringing together parties in conflict in order to solve their problems, when Kazakhstan is this honest broker in international affairs, Kazakhstan becomes a very important instrument of the objectives of the UN,” he said, speaking earlier.
End wars, deal with existential crises, UN chief urges Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) leaders
Read more ⤵️https://t.co/XDFokCi8VG pic.twitter.com/FmBbQkLlXK
— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) July 5, 2024
At the SCO+ format, Tokayev proposed several key strategies to enhance multilateral cooperation among SCO member states. These included enhancing the UN’s role in global security, supporting China’s plan to increase SCO trade turnover to USD 3 trillion, and developing a large Eurasian trade belt utilizing over 350,000 kilometers of railroads. He noted that 80 percent of land transportation between Asia and Europe goes through Kazakhstan.
The Kazakh leader’s former and very prominent role as a Deputy UN Secretary General provides some explanation as to why coordination with the UN received such high attention at this year’s SCO summit.
Addressing climate change, Tokayev called for introducing new water-saving technologies and achieving UN environmental goals. Additionally, he advocated for cultural and humanitarian cooperation through the establishment of cultural centers, engaging youth, expanding SCO universities, and increasing grants for students, particularly in technical fields.
The SCO summit saw the participation of several world leaders, including Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov, Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
At the summit, Belarus was officially admitted as a full member state of the SCO. Following the summit, China assumed the rotating presidency of the SCO for 2024-2025.
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