Kyrgyz president calls for boosting SCO’s economic strength; urges new plan
Members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have upheld the “Shanghai Spirit,” enjoyed all-round cooperation and played a positive role in global and regional issues, Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov has said.
The president made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua ahead of the SCO summit in the eastern seaport of Qingdao, Shandong Province.
Since its establishment 17 years ago, the SCO has become a paradigm of mutual respect and mutual trust among countries and people, and laid a solid foundation for peace, harmony and development in the region and beyond.
The SCO members have adhered to the bloc’s guiding “Shanghai Spirit,” which features mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for cultural diversity and the pursuit of common development, Jeenbekov said.
They have conducted allround cooperation in areas such as security, economy and trade, and people-to-people exchanges, and have played a positive role in global and regional issues, he said.
The SCO has created favorable conditions for economic cooperation and common development of its members, the president said, highlighting the importance of economic development within the bloc.
“We believe that only by enhancing the SCO’s overall economic strength, increasing employment opportunities, and improving the well-being of the people can we tackle all the problems and challenges on the way forward,” he said.
The Kyrgyz president expects state leaders at the Qingdao summit to jointly enact a new cooperation plan, which would bring better prospects for the common development of the SCO members in the new era.
Speaking of KyrgyzstanChina relations, Jeenbekov said bilateral relations, which have been developing in a steady manner, are at an all-time high.
China is one of the most important trade and investment partners of Kyrgyzstan, and there is tremendous potential for bilateral cooperation in transportation, trade, tourism, energy and mining among others, he said.
“We plan to adopt active measures to boost the bilateral trade volume, constantly improve the trade structure and promote the export of Kyrgyz agricultural products to China,” Jeenbekov said.
The president suggested that the two countries use their capital markets and encourage financial and commercial organizations to jointly participate in the establishment of a bilateral financial cooperation mechanism.
Creating a good atmosphere for investors is the primary goal, since investment is one of the main sources of economic growth, he said.
“We highly value the mutual trust of the two countries and hope to enhance political dialogue, and deepen cooperation in areas of economy and trade, investment, transportation and people-to-people exchanges,” said Jeenbekov, who is currently on a state visit to China.
“I hope this visit can achieve new breakthroughs in promoting bilateral practical cooperation in various fields,” he said.
The Kyrgyz president said he supports the Belt and Road initiative, proposed by China, and it is noteworthy that all the SCO member states and observer states are located along the Belt and Road.
He pointed out that the SCO can help pair the Chinaproposed initiative with the Eurasian Economic Union, of which Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Kazakhstan are members.
The main idea of the SCO and the concept of the Belt and Road complement each other, the president said, highlighting the initiative’s aim of achieving policy, infrastructure, trade, financial and people-to-people connectivity.
The initiative has opened up new opportunities and paths for the development of the SCO, and has also expanded the area of cooperation of the organization, he said.