SCO Secretary General Vladimir Norov has said that economic cooperation will be in focus at the upcoming SCO Council of Heads of Government under India’s chairmanship on 30th November. He was addressing a press conference in Beijing on the results of the recently concluded SCO Summit. Citing Prime Minister Modi, Mr. Norov said that with economic multilateralism and national capacity building, the SCO countries will be able to overcome the crisis of economic losses caused by the pandemic.

He said that SCO as a grouping is paying special attention to measures to restore national economies in the post-Pandemic period. He also noted that SCO acted as a strong platform in cooperation against COVID-19 and highlighted the importance of the international community’s efforts in strengthening the WHO’s capacity.  

He said that SCO will continue to contribute to settlement of international and regional conflicts exclusively by political and diplomatic means, based on the principles of equality, respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in the internal affairs of states, renunciation of the use or threat of use of force. 

Created in 2001, the SCO is a political, economic, and security bloc comprising eight members – India, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan.

SCO member states account for around 42% of the world’s population, 22% of the land area, and around 20% of global GDP.