On June 28, on the eve of the annual summit of the heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, a meeting of the Board of the SCO Business Council was held. The meeting, held in a hybrid format, was moderated by the Chairman of the SCO Business Council in 2024, Raimbek Batalov. SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming addressed the participants with a welcoming speech.
The President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chairman of the Russian part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Business Council, Sergey Katyrin, spoke at the meeting.
The President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry drew the attention of participants to the significant increase in interest of business circles in trade and economic cooperation within the SCO. As Sergey Katyrin pointed out, in 2023 the volume of trade turnover between Russia and the SCO member states increased by 24.4% compared to 2022. At the same time, the volume of Russian exports increased by 16.2%, Russian imports increased by 37.2%.
Based on requests from businesses received by the Russian part of the SCO Business Council, Sergey Katyrin identified the most promising areas of cooperation. Firstly, this is the development of interstate electronic document management, cross-border IT solutions and other areas of the digital economy. Secondly, the sustainable development agenda: ensuring food security, uninterrupted supply of electricity and water resources, developing new green technologies and exchanging them between countries.
Sergey Katyrin named the development of innovations and high technologies based on startups as another popular area. As the President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry noted, at the SCO Startup Forum, held in March 2024 in New Delhi, the stands of Russian companies aroused significant interest among visitors.
In addition, work continues to create a seamless SCO infrastructure space in the context of the further development of transcontinental transport corridors (such as North-South and One Belt - One Road). The significance of this work was noted at the traditional session of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on business, trade and economic cooperation with the SCO countries on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June 2024.
Industrial cooperation within the SCO remains invariably relevant. Sergey Katyrin reminded participants about the imminent opening of the International Industrial Exhibition "Innoprom" (it will be held in Yekaterinburg from July 8 to 11, 2024). Invitations to the exhibition were previously sent by the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry to the national parts of the SCO Business Council.
Representatives of India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan also spoke at the meeting of the Board of the SCO Business Council on June 28.
In conclusion, the executive secretary of the SCO Business Council, Sergey Kanavsky, presented the participants with an annual report on the activities of the Council and summed up the work of the Board meeting. All proposals of the chairmen of the national parts of the SCO Business Council, including those listed by the President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sergei Katyrin, will be included in the protocol following the meeting.
By Daniil Bordyugov,
Press service of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry