SCO SUMMIT HIGHLIGHTS KAZAKHSTAN'S STRATEGIC ROLE ON GLOBAL STAGE

From Noor Bakhtiar Ahmad

ASTANA (Kazakhstan), July 3 (Bernama) -- Astana is electrified as about 10,000 distinguished delegates congregate in Kazakhstan's capital from July 3 to 4 for the influential Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, tackling security challenges, environmental issues, and bolstering trade and economic cooperation.

Touted as one of the most high-profile gatherings this year, the SCO Summit represents over three billion people or about 45 per cent of the world's population.

The SCO is composed of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan and Iran, and it will expand to ten members with the inclusion of Belarus.

Kazakhstan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko highlighted the summit's significance at a media briefing on Wednesday, underscoring Kazakhstan’s rapid development and strategic importance internationally.

“The SCO has been instrumental in fostering regional stability, economic growth, and multilateral cooperation,” Vassilenko said, adding that by hosting the significant gathering, Kazakhstan reaffirmed its commitment to mutual respect, equality and consensus-building while charting a path forward for the organisation.

Vassilenko said the summit aimed to address security challenges, enhance trade and economic cooperation, promote environmental protection, and strengthen bonds among SCO-member states.

Delving into Kazakhstan's role as SCO Summit host, Vassilenko underscored the relevance of middle powers in global diplomacy.

In addition to the SCO, Kazakhstan also chairs five other international organisations this year, including the Astana-based Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), often seen as an Asian counterpart to the OECD in Europe.

Other organisations include the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), Islamic Organisation of Food Security (IOFS), International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) and the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS).

“Kazakhstan’s diplomatic approach emphasises maintaining constructive relations with all major global players, adhering to the United Nations Charter,” Vassilenko said.

He said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s strategy of focusing on multilateral cooperation and finding solutions to complex international issues would contribute to the SCO Summit’s success.

The SCO includes two permanent members of the UN Security Council – China and Russia – and four nuclear-weapon states (China, Russia, India and Pakistan), and the two most populous countries (China and India).

It also includes three BRICS countries – Russia, India and China – and four G20-member countries (Russia, India, China and Turkiye), and the two largest energy consumers (China and India).

Notable leaders already present for the summit include Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres also in attendance.

-- BERNAMA