CBN Friday Special丨Explainer: What is SCO? What’s on the agenda of Samarkand...

S: Hi! Welcome to CBN Friday Special. I’m Stephanie Li.

E: Hi, I’m Erin.

S: The 22nd meeting for the Council of Heads of State of the SCO held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan officially kicked off Thursday, which has aroused huge attention from the international community. Now Erin, pop quiz: What is SCO? Who are the members?

E: Well, I’ve been learning about the SCO recently and I’m happy to share what I’ve learnt with you all. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, or SCO in short, was launched in Shanghai in June 2001 and has eight full members, including its six founding members,China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In 2017, India and Pakistan became the newest members of SCO. The SCO also has four observer states and six dialogue partners. The eight member states of the SCO are home to nearly half of the world's population and cover 1/4 of the planet's land territory.

S: Excellent, thanks Erin for the introduction. Since it was established, the SCO member states have been upholding the principle of non-alignment, mutual trust and non-interference in each other's internal affairs and following the Shanghai Spirit of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilisations and pursuit of common development. Over the years, member states uphold openness and inclusiveness in its cooperation, properly deals with regional issues and actively joins international affairs.

E: Speaking of cooperation, SCO members have in recent months moved to further boost economic and trade cooperation. As one of the latest results of SCO economic cooperation, the China Development Bank said on Wednesday that it had completed 63 cooperation projects under the framework of the SCO Interbank Consortium, extending loans totalling $14.6 billion to member banks and partner banks by August, covering production capacity cooperation, infrastructure, green and low-carbon development, and agriculture.

S: And I would like to add that as most SCO members, observers and dialogue partners are located along the ancient Silk Road, they have leveraged the geographical advantage and seen rapid development in recent years.

In 2021, the combined GDP of all SCO nations was $23.3 trillion, 13 times higher than when the organisation was founded, and China has been ramping up efforts to boost trade with other SCO members, seeing its total trade volumes with other members reach $343.1 billion, a 40 percent rise from the previous year.

SCO has also been promoting synergy between the Belt and Road cooperation and the development strategies of various countries and regional cooperation initiatives. In May 2015, China and Russia signed a joint declaration of the connection of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Eurasian Economic Union.

E: This year marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the SCO Charter and the 15th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Long-Term Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation of the SCO Member States. The ongoing Samarkand Summit is of special significance as the international relations system is going through profound restructuring, and now all eyes are on the summit. So what’s on the agenda?

S: First, the summit will issue the Samarkand Declaration, which will be a comprehensive political declaration on the SCO's position on international politics, economy and a range of other aspects. The participants will also discuss climate change, and the security of supply chains, energy and food, which are factors having great influence on the well-being of all humankind.

More and more countries and international organizations are hoping to enhance their cooperation with the SCO and more countries are expecting to become a part of the SCO family. Last year, the SCO launched procedures to admit Iran as a full member state and granted dialogue partner status to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar.

So the second big thing on the agenda will be the memorandum of understanding on Iran's accession to the SCO being discussed at this year's summit. Belarus has formally submitted an application for full membership as well.China and Belarus on Thursday issued a joint statement on establishing an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership.

And the third thing, it is expected that the SCO member states will be further expanded to green development, digital economy and other areas in the future in line with the concepts of "a green Silk Road" and "a digital Silk Road”.

E: The SCO has now grown into the world's largest and most populous regional institution, and it has endeavoured to explore new ground, both theoretically and with actual steps, with a view to build a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind.

S: I agree. Looking ahead, the SCO will play an ever larger role in promoting regional prosperity and cooperation.

And that’s it for today, see you next time!

9月15日至16日，上海合作组织（简称上合组织）成员国元首理事会第二十二次会议在乌兹别克斯坦撒马尔罕举行。各成员国利用撒马尔罕峰会契机，重点就系列关切事项交换意见，寻求共识和解决方案。

上合组织2001年6月15日在上海成立，创始成员国为中国、俄罗斯、哈萨克斯坦、吉尔吉斯斯坦、塔吉克斯坦和乌兹别克斯坦6国。2017年，上合组织阿斯塔纳峰会决定给予印度和巴基斯坦成员国地位，成员国增至8个。上合组织8个成员国领土总面积超过欧亚大陆的五分之三，人口占世界近一半，是当今世界幅员最广、人口最多的综合性区域组织。上合组织也是迄今唯一在中国境内成立、以中国城市命名、总部设在中国境内的区域性国际组织。上合组织现有阿富汗、白俄罗斯、伊朗、蒙古国4个观察员国，阿塞拜疆、亚美尼亚、柬埔寨、尼泊尔、土耳其和斯里兰卡等对话伙伴。

上合组织成立21年来，始终遵循“上海精神”，坚持“走开放融通之路”，倡导创新、协调、绿色、开放、共享的发展理念，拓展务实合作空间，助力经济复苏、民生改善，推动区域经济合作取得累累硕果，向着“相互成就发展振兴的美好愿景”不断迈进，为全球发展繁荣贡献“上合力量”。

当前，上合组织地区整体发展势头良好，成员国经济总量和对外贸易额实现年均增长约12%。2020年，成员国经济总量和对外贸易总额相较上合组织成立之初分别增长11倍和8倍。2021年，上合组织成员国经济总量超过20万亿美元，在全球经济中所占比重稳步增加，对世界经济增长的贡献率不断提升。

国家开发银行介绍，截至8月末，国开行在上海合作组织银行联合体框架下实现合作项目63个，累计向成员行和伙伴行发放贷款合计146亿美元，涉及产能合作、基础设施、绿色低碳、农业及中小企业等领域。

随着共建“一带一路”合作深入推进，上合组织国家发展战略对接合作日益紧密，贸易投资水平显著提升，地区高质量互联互通格局初现轮廓，农业、地方合作等领域亮点纷呈。乌兹别克斯坦的甜瓜、吉尔吉斯斯坦和塔吉克斯坦的车厘子等产品进入中国寻常百姓家；投资合作领域从石油、天然气、矿产资源开发等传统领域延伸至电力、电信、化工、农业、商贸服务业等；中欧班列2021年全年开行1.5万列，中俄黑河—布拉戈维申斯克公路桥实现通车，中吉乌铁路的建设进程已经开启。

今年适逢《上海合作组织宪章》签署20周年和《上海合作组织成员国长期睦邻友好合作条约》签署15周年。在当前复杂的国际形势下，峰会将成为推动上合组织未来发展的一个新的里程碑。成员国领导人在峰会上就丰富议题展开探讨，涉及安全、金融、互联互通、人文交流等多个领域。此外，各方还重点讨论气候变化、供应链安全、能源安全、粮食安全等新挑战。本次峰会将发表《撒马尔罕宣言》，将会全面地阐述上合组织对于国际政治、经济等等一系列方面问题的立场。近年来，许多国家对上合组织表示出强烈参与意愿。今年，撒马尔罕峰会将扎实有序推进扩员进程，给予更多认同本组织合作理念的国家相应法律地位。

经过20多年努力，上合组织实现了从安全与经济合作的“双轮驱动”到“四个共同体”多轨并进，正向着更光明的前景锐意进发。撒马尔罕峰会再启程，上合组织将继续高举“上海精神”旗帜，致力于构建更加紧密的上海合作组织命运共同体，为世界持久和平与共同发展作出更大贡献。

Executive Editor: Sonia YU

Editor: LI Yanxia

Host: Stephanie LI, HUANG Yuyan

Writer: Stephanie LI, HUANG Yuyan

Sound Editor: HUANG Yuyan

Graphic Designer: ZHENG Wenjing, LIAO Yuanni

Produced by 21st Century Business Herald Dept. of Overseas News.

Presented by SFC

编委: 于晓娜

策划、编辑：李艳霞

播音：李莹亮

撰稿：李莹亮、黄雨嫣

音频制作：黄雨嫣

设计：郑文静、廖苑妮

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