Uzbekistan proposes to adopt a new SCO economic dialogue program

On October 26, Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov spoke at a meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Bishkek, the correspondent of “Gazeta.uz” reports.

In his speech, he proposed adopting a new program of economic dialogue for the purpose of developing high technologies.

The head of the government of Uzbekistan clarified that the program should cover areas such as innovative development, digitalization and robotization, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and other industries of the future.

“In order to establish interaction in these areas, we plan to hold a week of innovative partnership of the regions of the SCO member states in 2024 in Uzbekistan with the organization of a joint exhibition of high technologies”, – added Abdulla Aripov.

He noted that the communication interconnectedness of the countries in the region also remains an important factor in the development of the SCO. The head of the government of Uzbekistan recalled that strategic projects for the development of the North-South and East-West highways are currently underway.

“In this regard, the start of practical work on the project for the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is of particular importance. We stand for increasing multimodal transportation along this route, as well as through Afghanistan towards the ports of Iran and Pakistan with access to the markets of South Asia and the Middle East”, – added the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan.

He also expressed the opinion that the SCO countries should provide simplified mechanisms for the movement of food products in the organization’s space in the face of disruptions in the agricultural supply system.

The Prime Minister of Uzbekistan noted that food security issues are extremely relevant today. In particular, the difficult situation in the global economy has led to disruptions in the supply chain of agricultural products, which affects price increases.

Abdulla Aripov recalled that these problems were discussed at the international conference on food security in early September in Samarkand, where representatives of the SCO took part.

“At the conference, the importance of implementing joint measures aimed at developing cooperation through the development of smart agriculture and water conservation was noted”, – added Aripov.

In addition, the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan invited the SCO countries to develop accessible regional tourism products. He noted the importance of expanding contacts between tourism administrations, leading operators and airlines, as well as specialized educational institutions in the tourism sector of the SCO countries.