Turchyn Seeks SCO Support for Industrial Projects

Reform.news Editorial Team · 20 October 2026, 08:52

https://reform.news/en/turchyn-seeks-sco-support-for-industrial-projects/

Belarusian Prime Minister Aliaksandr Turchyn hopes to secure support from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) for industrial cooperation projects, including through a development bank being established by the organisation.

“We see significant potential for industrial cooperation. We propose mobilising the resources of SCO countries to develop joint projects and manufacture products in greatest demand, including automotive and agricultural machinery and high-tech goods. In this regard, the adoption today of the Regulation on the Database of Industrial Investment Projects of SCO Member States is expected to play an important role,” he said at a meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government in Dushanbe.

According to Turchyn, Belarus also actively supports the creation of an SCO financial institution.

“The Republic of Belarus supports the early establishment of the SCO Development Bank as a key instrument for financial independence and economic integration across the SCO region. We believe it is essential that this institution become a multilateral development bank with a unique mandate, providing access to long-term investment financing without political conditions.

We are convinced that establishing such a mechanism to support project financing could have a powerful positive impact on the economies of SCO member states, make our ties more resilient and strengthen the region’s financial sovereignty.

The SCO Development Bank could serve as the core of our organisation’s settlement and payment system, helping gradually increase the share of national currencies in foreign trade and investment transactions,” he added.

Turchyn also stressed the importance of transport connectivity for developing economic relations within the SCO. He expressed interest in further developing transport routes.

The Belarusian prime minister offered to share the country’s experience in livestock farming, crop production, and food manufacturing and processing.

“Modern economies are increasingly determined not so much by the availability of resources as by the ability to develop and implement technologies. Virtually all sectors are undergoing digital transformation today. Cooperation in IT must therefore be viewed first and foremost as infrastructure for developing the SCO’s entire economic dimension.

We support initiatives to create a common scientific and innovation space within the organisation and believe it is important to connect it with the real economy. This will enable scientific advances to be translated into technologies more quickly, and technologies into new production facilities,” he said.

According to Turchyn, SCO countries account for more than 76% of Belarus’s foreign trade in goods.

“Belarus views every meeting in the SCO format as a direct opportunity to move from general declarations to concrete agreements. Our countries have complementary industrial and technological capabilities, and we can make full use of them in joint activities,” he said.