ISLAMABAD: The 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Wednesday concluded here, marking a significant step towards enhanced collaboration among member states.
In his closing remarks, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif announced to transfer of the Chairmanship of CHG of SCO member states to the Russian Federation, extending his gratitude to Prime Minister of Russia Mikhail Mishustin on assuming the chairmanship.
He said the next meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Governments would take place in 2025 in Russia.
“This council congratulates the Prime Minister of Russia Mikhail Mishustin, and expresses its readiness to fully support the Russian chair,” he added.
PM Shehbaz reaffirming Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to the common goals and objectives of SCO, stressed to prioritize collaboration over political differences and decisions.
“Let us prioritize collaboration over political differences and decisions, build on our achievements, address the shared challenges, and work hand in hand to ensure that the SCO remains a beacon of stability, development, and mutual benefits for our peoples,” he added.
Condemning the Israeli aggression in Gaza, the prime minister said “We cannot ignore the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the international community bears the responsibility to ensure an immediate and unconditional ceasefire leading to the establishment of the state of Palestine based on pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds as its capital”.
The heads of governments of member states signed the documents of the joint declaration of the meeting, which include the joint communique of the meeting and other decisions related to furthering the economic and trade cooperation as well as decisions on ensuring the efficient working of permanent bodies of SCO.
The prime minister also extended his gratitude and congratulated all national coordinators, experts, and staff of the SCO Secretariat who had worked diligently to finalize the documents.
After the two-day summit, a joint communique was issued in which the heads of delegations called for sustainable and inclusive economic growth of member states by optimizing the region’s potential in areas such as green development, digital economy, trade, e-commerce, finance and banking, investment, high technology, start-ups and innovation, poverty alleviation, health care, including traditional and folk medicine, agriculture, industry, transport, logistics connectivity, energy, including renewable energy, communications, science and technology, environment and climate change.
The member states, reaffirming their desire to ensure stable economic and social development in the SCO region, noted the importance of implementing the SCO Economic Development Strategy for the period up to 2030 and the Program of Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation of the SCO member states.
Heads of delegation emphasized enhancing railway transport cooperation and welcomed the upcoming meeting of Railway Administrations in Moscow. They advocated for innovative technologies in multi-model transport and called for developing infrastructure, logistics, and safety measures, aligning with the SCO’s Concept of Cooperation on ports and logistics centers.
The SCO members noted the importance of developing further cooperation in overcoming poverty and increasing the well-being of the population within the framework of the activities of the Special Working Group (SWG) of the SCO Member States on poverty reduction issues.
During the meeting, decisions were made on several issues related to the financial and organizational activities of the SCO permanent bodies, taking into account the accession of the Republic of Belarus to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
The heads of the delegation expressed their gratitude to Pakistan for the successful organization of the 23rd meeting of the SCO CHG, which was held in a constructive and friendly atmosphere.
