ISLAMABAD, Oct 9 (APP): Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Romina Khurshid Alam on Wednesday said the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)’s significance as a multilateral forum has further enhanced post-Covid-19 pandemic that stirred transformational changes leading towards multipolar world.
She was addressing as a keynote speaker at the webinar on “Multi-polar World and Role of SCO” organized by the China-Pakistan friendship group of the Parliament of Pakistan in collaboration with the Asian Institute of Eco-civilization, Research, and Development (AIERD) and Sutainability First.
She said “Pakistan is hosting a Head of Government meeting in the coming week. Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was built by adhering to the philosophy of the Shanghai Spirit, which revolves around the principles of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for the diversity of civilizations, and the pursuit of common development,” she said.
The SCO forum, she said started with a low profile but was highly focused on its goals and objectives. Since the organization’s inception, SCO has adhered to respect, trust, and win-win cooperation principles, she added.
The forum’s principles led to the successful execution of plans and achievement of the most urgent objective, including border issues, which boosted the confidence of SCO members, Romina Alam said.
“Thus, in recent years, SCO underwent expansion. Pakistan, India, Iran, and Belarus are the most recent additions to the organization. The inclusion of Pakistan and India highlights the core values of the organization that SCO is open, culturally diverse, and focuses on common grounds,” she said.
The SCO member states constitute 40% of the world population and have a combined GDP of around US$24 trillion, she added.
Saudi Arabia, UAE and some other countries are in line to join the organization. These factors make SCO one of the most important organizations, Romina underlined.
The specific objectives of the event were to deliberate on the ongoing changes at the global and regional levels to explore the future role of SCO in the changing world and future prospects an influential forum amid emerging multipolar world.
CEO of AIERD, Shakeel Ahmed Ramay, said, “We have to deliberate on whether we are moving towards a multipolar or Multiblock world.”
He also emphasized that SCO must have a comprehensive communication policy to compete with the world.
Founding President Center for China and Globalization, Dr. Henry Huiyao WANG highlighted the importance of economic linkages and the key role of the economy in bringing together countries. Moreover, he said, economic linkages and cooperation must be a multipolar world’s guiding philosophy and pillars. He said, China is already promoting economic linkages by sharing its prosperity with the world.
Russian International Affairs Council, Julia Melnikova was convinced that SCO must be more vocal and raise its voice at the global level. It should present its ideas and contribution to global peace and development.
Former Chairman Senate Defence Committee, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed said there is a need to enhance cultural linkages, and for that purpose, there is a need to promote people-to-people exchanges. He also enforced the idea of Dr Wang for more economic linkages.
Vice President of PATH, Ex-Assistant Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, UK, Dr Nabeel Goheer said the SCO forum started with a low profile, and West was not giving any importance to SCO. However, over time, it has become one of the important pillars of the global system. He quoted that Western scholars now believe that SCO has established an order in Central Asia and nearby regions. Thus, it can be assumed that it will lead to a more prominent role of the SCO in the coming years.
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