China, SCO member states pledge deeper sustainable development cooperation

China and other member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), pledged to enhance sustainable development cooperation at a Thursday conference in Tianjin, ahead of this year's SCO summit.

As the rotating chair for this year, China is to host the SCO summit in Tianjin this autumn. The China-SCO Conference on Industrial Cooperation for Sustainable Development is one of the activities organized during a promotion event from Wednesday to Friday. It aims to promote cooperation in fields like infrastructure, energy, mining and petrifaction.

Nearly 400 guests, including government officials and enterprises from SCO member states attended the opening session.

"In 2024, China's trade volume with SCO member states, observer states and dialogue partners reached a record high of 890 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for about 14.4 percent of China's total foreign trade volume, fully demonstrating the tremendous vitality and broad prospects of trade development within the region," said Ling Ji, vice minister of commerce and deputy China international trade representative, at the conference.

As China has extensive experience in promoting sustainable development, attendees from SCO member states expressed hope to strengthen cooperation with China across various sectors, said SCO Deputy Secretary General Sohail Khan.

"China plays a very, very important, significant role in sustainable development, as I said, so we are expecting that in the sustainable development context, all member states have lot to gain and learn from China on its achievements in various areas, like agricultural industries, energy, high tech, information technology, and robot AI," he said.

By the end of 2024, China's investment stocks in SCO member states, observer states and dialogue partners have exceeded 140 billion U.S. dollars, with the total value of contracts signed by Chinese enterprises in these countries exceeding one trillion U.S. dollars and the completed turnover surpassing 680 billion U.S. dollars.

In 2024, about 19,000 China-Europe freight train ran through the SCO region, marking a year-on-year increase of 10.7 percent and significantly promoting regional connectivity and economic development.

China, SCO member states pledge deeper sustainable development cooperation

African officials on Wednesday pledged to scale up investment to accelerate development across the member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at a meeting in Accra, Ghana's capital.

They made the commitment during the 24th Annual General Meeting of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), where leaders highlighted the need to expand the bank's capital base to finance transformative projects.

Ghanaian Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson stressed that timely capital payments would strengthen EBID's leverage and sustain its growth, enabling the institution to stimulate inclusive economic expansion across the region.

"Timely capital payments are critical. It strengthens EBID leverage and sustains its growth and impact across our region. Expanding our capital base is essential to strengthen our ability to finance transformative development projects and stimulate inclusive economic growth among our member states," said Forson.

EBID recorded strong achievements in 2025, with total disbursements of about 722 million U.S. dollars, up 47.7 percent from 2024. Building on that momentum, President George Agyekum Donkor said the bank remains committed to helping member states tackle poverty and close infrastructure gaps across the region.

"We aim to direct at least 63 percent of new commitments towards the private enterprises to catalyze job creation and innovation. Simultaneously, the bank would embed environmental, social and governance principles across its operations, dedicating over 41 percent of resources to climate mitigation and social inclusion projects," said Donkor.

With disbursements surging nearly 48 percent last year, EBID officials said the bank is positioned to channel more resources into private-sector growth and climate-focused projects, reinforcing its role as a driver of inclusive development across West Africa.

African officials vow stronger investment push at ECOWAS bank meeting in Accra