Islamabad concludes 23rd SCO CHG moot, Chairmanship handed over to Russia

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.