SCO Prime Ministers’ summit ends in Tashkent

Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serih Ahmetov, Premier of the State Council of China Li Keqiang, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Jantoro Satibaldiev, Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister of Tajikistan Kohir Rasulzoda, Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyayev, SCO Secretary General Dmitry Mezentsev, Director of the Executive Committee of the Regional anti-terrorist structure (RATS) Zhang Sinfen, chairpersons of the SCO Business Council and SCO Inter-banking Union participated at the summit.

Representatives of the observer states of the SCO – Second Vice President of Afghanistan Karim Halili, First Deputy Minister of External Affairs of India Sujatha Singh, Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade of Iran Mohammadreza Nematzadeh, Adviser of Prime Minister of Pakistan on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz, as well as representatives of international partner organizations – Executive Secretary of UN ESCAP Noeleen Heyzer, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN Nyan Lynn and chairperson of the Executive Committee – Executive Secretary of CIS Sergey Lebedev also participated at the session.

Prime Ministers considered wide range of issues, including development of cooperation in trade-economic, scientific-technical, social-cultural, humanitarian and transport spheres among the member states.

They also discussed an execution of the pogramme of multilateral trade-economic cooperation of the SCO member states and action plan directed at developing of the project activities within the SCO for 2012-2016. It is worth to mention that measures on gradual realization of these programmes and action plans were adopted at the Tashkent meeting of the heads of foreign economic and foreign trade bodies of the SCO on 23 October 2013.

The participants considered information on activities of the Business Council and Inter-banking Union of the SCO and positively rated their work and recommended to them to boost interaction in development of project activities within the organization, directed at practical assistances to sustainable social-economic development in the SCO space, including through ensuring macroeconomic stability and financial sustainability, developing high-technologic industries, modernizing industrial infrastructure, improving mechanism of financing investment projects, establishing contacts among business circles and financial institutes of the SCO.

It was underlined that it is important to solve issues on raising level and quality of population lives, employment, reducing the level of joblessness and part-time employment mainly among younger generation, envisaging a combination of labour, employment and social measures and well-balanced economic financial policies have particular importance.

It was stated that the SCO member states are eager to see the global economy follow a path towards a stable steady growth.

The heads of government underlined that they have been making their contribution to the settlement of this task by taking efforts to ensure their own successful socioeconomic development, strengthening cooperation in the field of economy and sharing their positive experience in settling the mentioned problems.

The heads of government welcome the practical initiatives of business circles of the SCO member states aimed to create high-tech and innovative joint ventures, carry out projects in priority economic sectors such as infrastructure, engineering, light and food industries, agriculture, tourism, development of expo-fair activity and multimodal transport logistical centres.

The heads of government stressed the need to strengthen dialogue and expand financial banking cooperation with the aim of facilitating the socioeconomic development of all the SCO member states, deepening the regional trade economic and investment cooperation, enhancing the region’s role in the global economy. In this regard the parties noted the importance of the Decision on the continuation of work on the creation of SCO Development Bank and SCO Development Fund (Special Account) taken at the present meeting of the CHG.

The heads of government have a shared position on the priority nature of the issues of strengthening multilateral cooperation in the field of transport and development of international transport corridors. Effective use of the whole transit potential of the region, precipitous development of the transport infrastructure, formation of favorable preconditions for increasing the amount of cargo deliveries will facilitate a growing commodity turnover and spur investment activity in the SCO region.

Prime Ministers noted the importance of further development of interaction in the field of air, road and railway connectivity, construction and effective use of multimodal transport logistical centres.

In this regard the parties underlined the significance of the soonest signing of the Agreement among the governments of the SCO member states on international road transportation facilitation, which will lay firm legal foundations for mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of road cargo deliveries in the SCO region.

The heads of government noted the need to increase interaction in the field of agriculture and instructed the agriculture ministers to begin practical implementation of the reached agreements and agreed projects in this area.

The heads of government noted the need to take additional concerted measures to jointly tackle threats of dangerous natural phenomena and manmade disasters with the aim of enhancing the response capability.

In this regard the parties noted the significance of the outcome of the Meeting of heads of ministries and departments responsible for disaster prevention and relief held on 10 September 2013 in the city of Saint Petersburg, as well as the importance of the staged joint drills of rescue services of the SCO member states “Rescue operation on tackling the aftermath of a destructive earthquake” (China, 11-16 June 2013) and “Elements-2013” (Kyrgyzstan, 10-12 September 2013).

The heads of government underlined the significance of deepening versatile interaction on the implementation of the Agreement among the governments of the SCO member states on healthcare cooperation. In this regard the parties noted the importance of the Programme of notification about epidemics of infectious diseases on the territory of SCO member states signed at the present meeting of the CHG.

The heads of government consider necessary to continue joint work on the development of cooperation in the field of environmental protection.

The heads of government, while positively rating the results of cooperation in the cultural and social field, declared for further development of multilateral and bilateral links in the field of culture, education, healthcare, sport, tourism, science and technology, which assist further strengthening of good-neighborliness, friendship and cooperation, spiritual rapprochement, the promotion of intercultural dialogue for the sake of the peoples living in the SCO region.

The SCO Prime Ministers approved the SCO Secretariat Report on the pace of implementing the Programme of multilateral trade economic cooperation of the SCO member states (December 2012 – November 2013). The parties approved the Organisation’s budget for 2014 and adopted decisions on a number of issues regarding the financial and organisational activity of the SCO permanent bodies.

The sides signed Joint Communique of the results of the 12th meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Member States.

The heads of government noted the excellent level of organisation and staging of meeting of the Council of heads of government (prime ministers) of the SCO member states and expressed gratitude to the Uzbek side for its warm hospitality.

The next meeting of the Council of heads of government (prime ministers) of the SCO member states will take place in 2014 in the Republic of Kazakhstan.