Kazakhstan hosts SCO heads of governments meeting

Nursultan Nazarbayev hosted the meeting of the Heads of Governments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member-states yesterday, December 15 in Astana, Tengrinews reports citing the press service of the Kazakh President.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or SCO, is a political, economic and military organization founded in 2001 in Shanghai. It comprises China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

The meeting was attended by China's State Council Premier Li Keqiang, prime ministers of the Kyrgyzstan Djoomart Otorbaev, Russia Dmitry Medvedev, Tajikistan Kokhir Rasulzoda, and First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Finance of Uzbekistan Rustam Azimov. The SCO Secretary General Dmitry Mezentsev and Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure Sinfen Zhang were also present.

During the meeting, Nazarbayev noted that the SCO was a kind of pan-Asian wealth fund, in which every member state had to be involved. "The organization works primarily for the sake of stability, elimination of territorial disputes between us and joint fight against the three evils of our time: separatism, extremism and terrorism,” Nazarbayev stressed.

Moreover, he said the organization needed to address the issues of food, environmental and energy security. “The SCO states have the capacity to meet our needs in energy and food. The joint work can also solve the problem of water deficit and access to other resources," he said.

Nazarbayev emphasized that Kazakhstan supported the initiative of creating the SCO Development Bank, which was essential for further expansion of the organization.

In addition, the development of transport cooperation was named among the most important areas of cooperation within the SCO.

Kazakhstan is implementing a number of important transport projects that focus not only on the development of the national economy, but also serve to activate bilateral trade and business relations throughout the region, Nazarbayev said.

"New Economic Policy "Nurly Zhol - Way into the Future” has been initiated in our country. It will see us make government investments into development of infrastructure. Roads and railways will be built from the capital to all the regions. We are building two seaports on the Caspian Sea, one of which is designed to provide ferry transport of vehicles and railroad cars. I think the new transport facilities will be used by all the members of the SCO," he said.

"The meeting of Heads of Governments was held in Kazakhstan for the third time. The organization is gaining political weight and economic power. Today, its voice is heard everywhere,” Nazarbayev stressed.

By Dinara Urazova