The President of Uzbekistan emphasized the important role of the ‘‘SCO Plus’’ meetings in the development of multifaceted partnerships within the organization

On July 4, in the city of Astana, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part in a meeting of the SCO plus format on the topic “Strengthening multilateral dialogue – the desire for sustainable peace and development”, the press service of the head of our state reports.

In addition to the heads of delegations of the SCO member countries and heads of its permanent bodies, the event was attended by leaders of observer states and dialogue partners, honored guests, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and heads of other international structures.

In his speech, the head of Uzbekistan emphasized that holding a meeting in the broad “SCO plus” format is very timely and in demand.

– The world, more than ever, needs to restore trust, justice and solidarity, – noted the President of our country.

Assessing modern global processes, he pointed out that political and economic “faults,” wars and conflicts undermine the foundations and key principles of the system of international relations.

– Contradictions and protectionism give rise to fragmentation of the global economy and disruptions in supply chains, creating new dividing lines that impede the effective interaction of countries in the field of trade, finance and investment, technology transfer and innovation, – the President noted.

According to him, “the only way to solve these problems is to consolidate efforts in the interests of global security, development and prosperity”.

The head of Uzbekistan stated that the SCO has always advocated and continues to advocate for a fair world order based on generally accepted principles of international law and multilateralism with the central coordinating role of the UN.

At the same time, emerging realities require new strategic approaches to increasing the effectiveness of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

– The time has come to develop a new agenda for the SCO that would correspond to the enormous potential and growing role of our Organization in world politics and economics, – said the President.

The head of state proposed taking a fresh look at the conceptual foundations of the SCO’s activities in matters of security, since the nature and scale of modern challenges have changed significantly since the establishment of the organization.

He drew attention to the need to take these factors into account when considering issues of strengthening the potential of the SCO, including the creation of a Universal Center for Countering Security Threats and Challenges.

The head of Uzbekistan took the initiative to annually hold the “SCO Plus Dialogue on Security Issues” with the participation of heads of competent authorities and experts.

The President of our country pointed out the importance of a consistent “reset” of trade and economic cooperation in the SCO space, creating strong foundations for multilateral trade and cross-sector partnership.

It was emphasized that during the summit the parties agreed to take comprehensive measures to simplify trade procedures and develop electronic commerce, stimulate technological cooperation, including in the industries of the future.

In order to form an effective platform for business dialogue with the involvement of all partners, the leader of Uzbekistan proposed to annually hold the ‘‘SCO EXPO’’ International Industrial Exhibition.

The importance of actively promoting economic interaction and finding opportunities to combine joint initiatives with the Economic Cooperation Organization, the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, the EAEU, ASEAN and others was also noted.

It was emphasized that in the current geopolitical realities, the formation of an inclusive and integrated transport and transit system to strengthen interregional interconnectedness is of particular importance.

As the President of Uzbekistan stated, in the context of growing environmental problems, the most important element of the new SCO agenda should be climate cooperation.

In this regard, he advocated the development of an Agreement on Cooperation in the Fight against Climate Change, with specific measures to achieve common goals and objectives in the field of green development.

In addition, it was proposed to create an SCO Center for Innovative Climate Solutions in Tashkent, which would conduct research in the field of environmental sustainability and green growth.

The central place in the organization’s agenda should be given to improving the quality of life of the population and social protection, the head of state noted. In this context, he said that next year a Global Conference on Sustainable Social Protection is planned in Samarkand under the auspices of the UN as a contribution to achieving the goals of the UN Future Summit.

The leader of our country called for us to jointly strengthen and promote a unique model of intercivilizational dialogue. According to him, “the rich cultural, historical and spiritual heritage, traditions, customs and way of life of our peoples is a powerful, life-affirming force that serves to strengthen bridges of mutual trust, good neighborliness and lasting friendship.”

It was noted that this is precisely the message contained in the recently adopted resolution of the UN General Assembly “International Day of Dialogue among Civilizations”.

In this context, the relevance of the Samarkand Solidarity Initiative put forward by Uzbekistan in the name of common security and prosperity was once again emphasized, the practical implementation of which will help strengthen intercivilizational dialogue to overcome contradictions on the path to sustainable development.

Attention was also paid to the implementation of programs in the field of cultural, educational, youth and tourist exchanges. In particular, it was proposed to develop a Unified Bank of Humanitarian Initiatives and SCO Programs, which would make it possible to systematize and jointly implement projects in these areas.

At the end of his speech, the head of our state expressed confidence that the results of the current meeting in the SCO plus format will give a powerful impetus to the development of a multifaceted partnership within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.