Industry minister attends SCO summit in Islamabad
The 23rd summit of the heads of the government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries was held in the Pakistani capital, with Iran’s attendance.
Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Atabak leads the Iranian delegation to the SCO summit, IRNA reported.
Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif addressed the opening ceremony of the summit where the representatives of the member states were present.
Upon his arrival in Islamabad on Tuesday evening, Atabak was welcomed by Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar.
The participating countries in the 23rd SCO meeting signed a joint document after the summit.
The Iranian trade minister also held a meeting with the host country’s commerce minister on the sidelines of the summit.
Speaking at the summit, Atabak said that holding such meetings is of paramount importance as the international system is now facing some challenges including the preservation of peace, stability and security.
The foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran focuses on the preservation of regional security and the fight against Takfiri terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking and organized crimes, the minister said.
According to a joint communique of the 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of Member States of the SCO, the heads of delegations noted the intention of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to join the work of the SCO Interbank Association.
They also welcomed the establishment of the SCO Investors Association and instructed the authorized bodies of the SCO member states to take measures to establish the practical work of this cooperation mechanism.
Heads of delegations noted the results of the meeting of the Special Working Group on Investment Promotion of the SCO Member States (Tehran, February 20-22, 2024), co-chaired by the Republic of Tajikistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as the proposal to develop a set of measures to stimulate mutual investments.
They expressed confidence that the activities of these mechanisms will give a new impetus to cooperation within the SCO in the investment sphere.
Moreover, the Republic of Belarus, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan while reaffirming support for the People’s Republic of China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, noted ongoing work on joint implementation of the project, including efforts to bridge the Eurasian Economic Union and the OBOR.