Yermekbayev Calls Establishment of SCO Development Bank an Important Step

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The establishment of a Development Bank for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will provide the bloc with its own financial instruments to implement major infrastructure projects, SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

He noted that in September 2025, an agreement was reached in Tianjin on the creation of the SCO Development Bank on a stakeholder basis.

“The creation of such an institution will be an important step aimed at providing the SCO with its own financial tools to carry out large-scale infrastructure projects,” Yermekbayev emphasized.

Following the summit in Tianjin, the leaders of SCO member states adopted a declaration reaffirming the importance of establishing the Development Bank and endorsed the intensification of consultations on its operational framework.

The new financial institution is expected to become a key instrument for supporting infrastructure initiatives within the organization, strengthening economic cooperation among member states.