Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 17 November 2020, an online conference was held on the topic "Main results of the meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council."

The event, organized at the initiative of the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies (ISMI) under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, brought together leading experts from the Strategic Research Institutes of the SCO member states: Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, India, Russia and Tajikistan.

Among them are the former SCO Secretary General Muratbek Imanaliev, ambassadors, professors and researchers.

The created online platform made it possible to conduct an in-depth discussion of pressing issues on the SCO agenda through the prism of the summit of the heads of state of the Organization, the proposals made by the leaders of the countries on the contours of future cooperation within this format.

Opening the online conference, the deputy director of ISMI Sanzhar Valiev noted the high practical significance of 10 November 2020 online meetings of the SCO Heads of State Council. The package of documents adopted at the end of the summit will make it possible to resolve a number of pressing issues of multilateral cooperation within the framework of the Organization in a pandemic.

Revealing the positions and approaches of Uzbekistan to the further development of relations within the framework of the SCO, the expert explained the essence and content of the initiatives put forward by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, which are designed to promote the expansion of interaction in such areas as the economy, medicine and healthcare, ecology, poverty reduction, and assistance to Afghanistan.

S. Valiev emphasized that the proposals of Uzbekistan have absorbed the socio-economic needs that are most urgent for the inhabitants of all countries of the "Shanghai family" and, in fact, create promising areas for interaction.

In the context of a special demand for a multilateral approach to overcome the consequences of the pandemic, according to the deputy head of the ISRM, the SCO can and should play a key role in the efforts taken by the member states to overcome the crisis.

In turn, the experts of the SCO countries who took part in the online dialogue emphasized the pragmatic and demanded nature of the initiatives of Uzbekistan, voiced at the meeting of the heads of state.

Dina Malysheva, head of the sector of the Russian Institute of World Economy and International Relations, noted the importance of ensuring the implementation of Uzbekistan’s initiatives to develop new approaches to the development of trade, economic and investment ties between the SCO member states.

In particular, in order to minimize the negative consequences of the pandemic, Uzbekistan proposed to strengthen cooperation by adopting long-term documents in this area. The Action Plan under development for 2021-2025 for the implementation of the Program of Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation of the SCO countries, according to this initiative, it should incorporate targeted measures in the field of transport, smart agriculture, green technologies, digitalization of the economy, e-commerce.

Experts from the Central Asian countries also agree with this point of view, who noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused serious damage to the industrial sector, small and medium-sized businesses of the SCO countries. Against this background, the establishment of industrial cooperation between the business circles of the Organization’s member states is in demand. However, at present the SCO lacks policy documents aimed at creating new supply chains between them. In this regard, the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan implies the development of a Program to stimulate industrial cooperation between the SCO countries. The initiative is also designed to attract investments, resources and experience of the SCO countries for the development of industries and support for small and medium-sized businesses in the post-pandemic period, especially in the states of Central Asia.

The deputy director of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies, Sanat Kushkumbayev, pointing out the work carried out in his country, singled out the health sector as one of the most promising areas of cooperation within the SCO.

Today, the pandemic has accelerated the introduction of new telecommuting technologies into healthcare. The SCO countries have great potential in this area. Therefore, the development of the Concept of cooperation in the field of telemedicine, proposed by the head of Uzbekistan, will make it possible to use more widely the potential of the SCO countries in the development of remote methods of treatment. Will create a basis for strengthening practical interaction between hospitals and medical research centers.

Special support from the Director of the Pakistani Center for Global and Strategic Studies Khalid Akram and leading expert of the Indian Council on International Affairs Atar Zafar was caused by Tashkent’s proposal to develop and adopt a Plan for the socio-economic reconstruction of Afghanistan and strengthening interregional connectivity of Central and South Asia.

Sun Zhuangzhi, director of the Chinese Institute of Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, noted the consonance of the tasks outlined by the leaders of Uzbekistan and the PRC. In his opinion, the proposals of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to increase the frequency of working contacts of competent departments, develop new interaction mechanisms and agree on joint measures to counter challenges and threats, echo the position of the President of the PRC Xi Jinping.

Participants of the online conference emphasized the importance of the discussion held by ISMI, which made it possible to outline further steps in the process of implementing the initiatives expressed at the last summit by the heads of state. This approach will increase the efficiency of joint work and the speed of interstate coordination of the planned measures within the framework of cooperation at the SCO platform.