The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a dynamic organization that develops with the time, with its member states working hand in hand to pursue shared progress, SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev said in an interview ahead of the bloc's annual summit.
The SCO Summit 2025 will take place in north China's Tianjin City from August 31 to September 1, and leaders from more than 20 countries and heads of 10 international organizations will attend the event.
In an interview with China Media Group (CMG), Yermekbayev also said that the organization has demonstrated agility in responding to challenges.
"The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a very dynamic and forward-looking organization. It constantly adapts to the changing situation and tries to respond to current challenges in a timely and effective manner. It not only promptly responds to some important events, but also takes preventive measures in order to remove possible conflicts in the future," said Yermekbayev.
"For instance, so far this year we managed to unanimously agree on and adopt six political statements. Meanwhile, in response to the demands of the era, the leaders of member states have made decisions and issued directives to start modernizing the SCO, and further improve the various working mechanisms of the organization. The SCO Secretariat is working actively with member states to improve the operation mechanism of the organization," Yermekbayev continued.
Established 24 years ago by China and its five neighboring countries, the SCO now has 10 member states, two observer states and 14 dialogue partners from Asia, Europe and Africa.
The bloc's combined GDP surpassed 20 trillion U.S. dollars in 2024, marking a 13-fold increase since its inception. The trade volume reached eight trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for roughly a quarter of global trade.
"Economic cooperation is one of our top priorities of the SCO, and we are working on deepening mutual trust and cooperation in all aspects. This plays a critical role in poverty reduction, safeguarding regional stability, countering extremism and terrorism, and response to other challenges. Thus, the SCO is actively promoting collaboration in transport, investment, agriculture, facilitating customs procedures, and easing the movement of business people. We are also cooperating in the field of industrial safety standardization. The cooperation is covering a very wide range, and it is probably difficult to name an industry in which we have not developed trade and economic cooperation," Yermekbayev said.
The secretary-general also said that member states are exploring the creation of a financial institution within the SCO framework to enhance financial cooperation.
"Member states are now exploring the creation of a financial institution within the SCO framework, potentially in the form of a development bank, development fund, or investment fund. Intensive consultations are underway among all parties, and we look forward to reaching a consensus in the near future," said Yermekbayev.
SCO evolves with times as members pursue common growth: secretary-general
