S: Hi! Welcome to CBN Friday Special. I’m Stephanie Li.

E: Hi, I’m Erin.

S: The 22nd meeting for the Council of Heads of State of the SCO held in Samarkand,Uzbekistanofficially kicked off Thursday, which has aroused huge attention from the international community. Now Erin, pop quiz: What is SCO? Who are the members?

E: Well, I’ve been learning about the SCO recently and I’m happy to share what I’ve learnt with you all. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, or SCO in short, was launched in Shanghai in June 2001 and has eight full members, including its six founding members, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In 2017, India and Pakistan became the newest members of SCO. The SCO also has four observer states and six dialogue partners. The eight member states of the SCO are home to nearly half of the world's population and cover 1/4 of the planet's land territory.

S: Excellent, thanks Erin for the introduction. Since it was established, the SCO member states have been upholding the principle of non-alignment, mutual trust and non-interference in each other's internal affairs and following the Shanghai Spirit of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilisations and pursuit of common development. Over the years, member states uphold openness and inclusiveness in its cooperation, properly deals with regional issues and actively joins international affairs.

E: Speaking of cooperation, SCO members have in recent months moved to further boost economic and trade cooperation. As one of the latest results of SCO economic cooperation, the China Development Bank said on Wednesday that it had completed 63 cooperation projects under the framework of the SCO Interbank Consortium, extending loans totalling $14.6 billion to member banks and partner banks by August, covering production capacity cooperation, infrastructure, green and low-carbon development, and agriculture.

S: And I would like to add that as most SCO members, observers and dialogue partners are located along the ancient Silk Road, they have leveraged the geographical advantage and seen rapid development in recent years.

In 2021, the combined GDP of all SCO nations was $23.3 trillion, 13 times higher than when the organisation was founded, and China has been ramping up efforts to boost trade with other SCO members, seeing its total trade volumes with other members reach $343.1 billion, a 40 percent rise from the previous year.

SCO has also been promoting synergy between the Belt and Road cooperation and the development strategies of various countries and regional cooperation initiatives. In May 2015, China and Russia signed a joint declaration of the connection of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Eurasian Economic Union.

E: This year marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the SCO Charter and the 15th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Long-Term Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation of the SCO Member States. The ongoing Samarkand Summit is of special significance as the international relations system is going through profound restructuring, and now all eyes are on the summit. So what’s on the agenda?

S: First, the summit will issue the Samarkand Declaration, which will be a comprehensive political declaration on the SCO's position on international politics, economy and a range of other aspects. The participants will also discuss climate change, and the security of supply chains, energy and food, which are factors having great influence on the well-being of all humankind.

More and more countries and international organizations are hoping to enhance their cooperation with the SCO and more countries are expecting to become a part of the SCO family. Last year, the SCO launched procedures to admit Iran as a full member state and granted dialogue partner status to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar.

So the second big thing on the agenda will be the memorandum of understanding on Iran's accession to the SCO being discussed at this year's summit. Belarus has formally submitted an application for full membership as well. China and Belarus on Thursday issued a joint statement on establishing an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership.

And the third thing, it is expected that the SCO member states will be further expanded to green development, digital economy and other areas in the future in line with the concepts of "a green Silk Road" and "a digital Silk Road”.

E: The SCO has now grown into the world's largest and most populous regional institution, and it has endeavoured to explore new ground, both theoretically and with actual steps, with a view to build a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind.

S: I agree. Looking ahead, the SCO will play an ever larger role in promoting regional prosperity and cooperation.

And that’s it for today, see you next time!