Kassym-Jomart Tokayev addresses SCO+ meeting in Astana
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev addressed the participants of the SCO+ meeting held in the extended format at the Palace of Independence in Astana, Kazinform News Agency learned from the Akorda press service.
The Head of State put forward a number of proposals called to give a new impulse to the interaction of parties.
“In our opinion, collective promotion of the agenda of peaceful and harmonious development remains a primary task. I am confident that only collective efforts and wise diplomacy can help settle the existing core contradictions in the world and ensure long-term stability. In this context, high hopes are pinned on the UN, which will mark its 80th anniversary next year. There is no alternative to this organization. Its potential is far from being exhausted,” the Kazakh President said.
According to him, our common task is to strengthen the role of the UN, as the main international institution of ensuring global security capable of effectively countering the challenges of the 21st century.
“The voice of the SCO must and will sound louder at the international arena, promoting consolidated stance on various problems of modernity. For this reason, the statement on good-neighborly relations, trust and partnership, which we have adopted, remains relevant,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted.
The Head of State also proposed to adopt a resolution of the UN General Assembly in support of the Just Peace, Harmony and Development Initiative ahead of the UN’s 80th anniversary and 20th jubilee of the UN-SCO cooperation.
In his words, Kazakhstan could stand as the center of attraction of creative industries, proposing to hold annual meetings of the young leaders and talents of the SCO member states.
The Kazakh President also proposed to expand the network of the SCO universities by including new educational institutions and dialogue partners. He suggested increasing the number of grants for the students in technical majors, and said that Kazakhstan is ready to continue allocating research and educational grants at its universities.
Another priority area is enhancing trade and economic ties.
According to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, sanctions-based conflicts significantly damage global economy and narrow the prospects for their further development. In these conditions, he said, the countries have to build more flexible strategy of trade-economic interaction aimed at preservation of a positive dynamics and capacity building.
“The SCO member states account for 30% of the global GDP, with the volume of foreign trade turnover exceeding $8 trillion, which is equal to a quarter of global trade amount. I would like to underline that the new historic economic rise in Asia, largely thanks to the SCO efforts, serves as a stabilizing factor for the entire global economy.
Kazakhstan welcomes China’s intentions to expand the access of the SCO states to its large-scale market and raise commodity turnover to $3 trillion,” he noted.
According to him, cooperation in the field of ecology and fight against climate change gains special importance.
“The situation in this area is of serious concern. We have witnessed a significant increase in natural disasters, which cause enormous damage to almost all countries. Recently, Kazakhstan has experienced the consequences of unprecedented floods. According to experts, the scale of this natural disaster is directly related to global warming process. It is evident that it is impossible to overcome climate challenges alone. I believe that the world community must continue its decisive course towards decarbonization of economy, but without damage to the acute tasks of development and modernization of all countries,” said the Kazakh President adding that “our solidarity on climate agenda could be demonstrated at the upcoming COP29 conference in Baku in November this year.”
In his opinion, the SCO space can turn into a big Eurasian belt of global trade development.
“Strengthening our positions as a continental alliance must serve as a significant factor of economic stability and prosperity. Kazakhstan is one of the key elements of the Eurasian transport system. 80% of overland transit transportations between Asia and Europe are carried out through the territory of Kazakhstan. We actively work on synergy of One Belt, One Road project with Trans-Caspian Route of the North-South transport corridor. The synergy of these transport corridors is expected to give a strong multiplicative effect. In this regard we attach great importance to the implementation of our initiative on establishment of partnership networks, strategic ports and logistics centers,” the Kazakh President said.
In conclusion, the Head of State emphasized again Kazakhstan’s strong commitment to comprehensive and mutually beneficial cooperation within the SCO and SCO+ formats.
“I am confident that all constructive propositions of the SCO states and partners will give a new impetus to further progressive development of our unique organization,” the Kazakh President stressed.
