SCO capacities should be used to promote member states’ welfare: Iran
Mokhber proposes establishment of SCO joint bank
Iran’s Interim President Mohammad Mokhber said that there are many capacities in the realm of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states that should be used for the benefit of the welfare of nations.
Mokhber made the remarks on Thursday in an address to the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO in Astana, Kazakhstan.
He called on the SCO members to enhance their transit, commercial and banking relations and move towards ditching the US dollar in their economic transactions.
“There are many opportunities and capacities in the territory of the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the field of trade, production, energy, transportation, agriculture, customs, telecommunications, as well as the development of technology in the field of artificial intelligence, for interaction, which should be used for the benefit of the welfare of nations and consolidation of sustainable peace and inclusive development in the Shanghai region and around the world,” Mokhber said.
He also underlined that the activation of transit corridors plays a key role in facilitating trade and economic development.
All the SCO members, he added, can trade with other countries faster and cheaper than before through the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and the southern Iranian ports.
The interim president also offered the creation of a joint network of free zones, as well as preferential and free trade agreements within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
He emphasized that Iran supports the use of national currencies in multilateral transactions with the aim of reducing reliance on the US dollar or ditching it. The establishment of an SCO joint bank can improve the level of financial and economic cooperation among the organization’s member states, Mokhber added.
The SCO is one of the world’s largest regional organizations, accounting for around one-third of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), roughly 40 percent of the world’s population, and nearly two-thirds of the entire Eurasian landmass.
Mokhber meets with Xi, Putin
The Iranian interim president also held separate talks with several heads of states participating in the conference. During his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Mokhber said relations between Iran and China are built on the principles of common interests and mutual respect.He underscored that Iranian and Chinese officials are determined to further expand mutual cooperation in economic, commercial and energy spheres.
Xi, for his part, said the relations between Beijing and Tehran were strategic, emphasizing that China’s policy to enhance relations with the Islamic Republic is not influenced by external factors.
The Iranian interim president also held a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which Mokhber said strategic relations between Iran and Russia have changed the world’s power equations and challenged the unjust order based on unilateralism. He said Iran and Russia enjoy deep-rooted, strategic and unchangeable relations which influence the ongoing developments in the
world.