Key conclusions
The SCO zone has an enormous development potential
«The SCO generated 11% of the entire volume of exterior foreign investment. Nearly 600,000 new enterprises have been registered, and that’s without China. The amount of gold and currency reserves nears USD 4 trillion. Despite the fact that not all member states report a cash surplus, the overall trade balance amounts to USD 193 billion. Export of goods in the SCO countries’ GDP exceeds 23%. All of the above point to enormous economic potential of the SCO zone,» said Rashid Alimov, SCO Secretary-General.
«The SCO countries make up two thirds of Eurasia. 3.2 billion people or 44% of the world’s population live there. It’s the largest transregional organization in the world. After India and Pakistan joined the organization, the regional character turned global», said Rashid Alimov.
«The SCO countries possess 17% of all global oil deposits and 40% of gas. Pakistan joined the organization, and this is very important for us», said Syed Mazhar Ali Nasir, Senior Vice President, The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI)
«According to the World Bank, 2 billion economically active people reside in the SCO countries. All the technological clusters, all sorts of natural resources are present there. The combined GDP in 2016 amounts to USD 15 trillion, or 21% of the global volume. Overall commodity turnover amounts to USD 6 trillion or 13% of the global number. Average GDP in SCO countries amounted to 4.84%, almost double the rate around the world,» said Rashid Alimov.
Cooperation under SCO is on the upswing
«The SCO grows and expands. There are observer countries and there are partner countries. We would like to have a stronger investment drive. Last year, economic cooperation within the organization went up 30%. In the Russian commodity turnover about 20% falls on the SCO countries,» said Sergei Katyrin, President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
«The foreign trade turnover of Chelyabinsk Region is more than 7 billion US dollars, 75% of which is with the SCO countries,» said Boris Dubrovsky, Governor of Chelyabinsk Region.
Cooperation under SCO promotes the development of Russian regions
«We are bidding to host SCO 2020. We passed the first stage: we are hosting SCO and BRICS Forum in Chelyabinsk, and are already setting up a work group to get ready for this event. The to-do list and its scale are enormous. One of the tasks is to improve the environment conditions in Chelyabinsk,» said Boris Dubrovsky, Governor of Chelyabinsk Region.
Problems
The level of integration in the SCO is lower than the level of integration of its member countries into the global economy
«The SCO countries are already producing a quarter of the world’s GDP. The regional integration steps up. But this does not match our integration into the global economy. We must trade more with each other,» said Shamshad Akhtar, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
Solutions
Sharing successful projects best practices among SCO member states
«This is a significant region for Belarus. Last year, 65% of our export went to the SCO countries. We are a part of the unique project: the China—Belarus industrial park called The Great Stone. Today, the park has 34 residents, including Huawei and ZTE. Our most recent additions are the manufacturers from the US and China,» said Vladimir Ulakhovich, Chairman of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Development of cooperation mechanisms under the SCO
«In June Qingdao will host the SCO Forum. Neighbourliness and cooperation agreement and other document are to be signed there, which will create a good foundation for enhanced cooperation,» said Yu Jianlong, Secretary General of China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC).
«Cooperation under the SCO is one of our priorities. We have a dynamic innovative agenda for 2019-2020. We need to set up an SCO projects bank and draft uniform standards for their financing,» said Daniil Algulyan, Senior Vice President and Head of International Business, Export and Financial Institutions of the Vnesheconombank Group.
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