Prime Minister Alyaksandr Turchyn emphasized the economic dimension of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s agenda at a meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government. He outlined the initiatives that Belarus supports and promotes within the SCO framework.
The prime minister noted that the SCO was initially established for political dialogue and regional security. However, as its membership expanded, the organisation evolved into a platform for addressing a wide range of issues.
“Against the backdrop of global economic instability and unilateral coercive measures, the economic dimension forms the basis of mutually beneficial partnership within the SCO. Its importance for ensuring regional security was confirmed by discussions at the Third High-Level International Eurasian Security Conference, which Minsk had the honour of hosting in late October,” he said.
Turchyn referred to World Bank data indicating that economic growth across the SCO area has nearly doubled the global average. He added that proposals “to strengthen the region’s economic sovereignty” were outlined by Alyaksandr Lukashenka at a recent summit.
“This includes intensifying dialogue on simplifying trade procedures within the SCO to reduce barriers, boost trade, and increase investment activity; creating an independent SCO financial mechanism to mitigate sanctions pressure; and gradually increasing the share of national currencies in foreign trade and investment operations to enhance the efficiency and independence of economic cooperation.
However, we need to establish our own payment settlement infrastructure. In this context, we support the idea of creating an SCO Development Bank, which should operate fully across all member states, providing additional stability and predictability for our economic ties and meeting the growing demand for investment and financing.
Creating a global Eurasian transit hub, including along the EAEU–SCO route, would help reduce business transaction costs, expand access for Central and South Asian countries to European and Chinese markets, and strengthen the resilience of trade flows under external pressure. We see our task as the prompt practical implementation of these proposals,” he said.
He added that Belarus also sees the expansion of industrial cooperation as essential for building resilient production chains that strengthen technological sovereignty and reduce dependence on external markets.
“One of the most important areas of cooperation within the SCO is ensuring food security. Our country fully meets its own food needs and holds high positions in global food export rankings. We are ready to share our experience in this field.
The greatest asset of any country is its people. Today, the agenda includes the need to expand educational cooperation. The Belarusian side proposes establishing the ‘SCO Young Diplomats’ programme for young specialists from member states. Should our proposal receive support, we are prepared to work on its practical implementation. We see great potential in creating regional professional training centres to prepare specialists for high-tech industries such as robotics, industrial automation, and information technology.
We should consider developing joint educational programmes between universities and colleges of SCO countries to train specialists in these fields and to organise internships at high-tech enterprises and research laboratories. Such personnel will become an important resource for industrial transformation across the SCO,” Turchyn continued.
Another Belarusian proposal is the development of tourism, including medical tourism. Turchyn also advocated expanding air connections between SCO countries, both between capitals and regional centres.
“Our common goals must be embodied in concrete projects, cooperative initiatives, and results that are visible and tangible in the daily lives of people throughout the SCO area. This is the core mission of our organisation,” he concluded.