2024-07-07 06:47:19
Routes through Azerbaijan are important for strengthening the transport potential in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) region.
As reported by Day.Az, Olzhas Beisembayev, an expert at the Kazakhstan Institute of Social Development, told Trend about this on Thursday on the sidelines of the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO member states in Astana.
“This meeting in the format of a meeting of heads of state is being held for the 24th time.
Within the framework of the summit, a meeting in the “SCO Plus” format is being held for the first time, where President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, as well as guests from Arab and Turkic countries, is participating as an honorary guest,” he said.
The expert noted that at the meeting in a narrow circle of heads of state, several areas for the development of cooperation within the SCO were identified.
“The first is to strengthen trust in the security sphere. The second is to expand trade and economic relations. The third is to strengthen transport and logistics links and communication corridors. In this context, China is implementing its “One Belt, One Road” initiative. There is also the Trans-Caspian route, which passes through Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, among other places,” Beisembayev added.
In addition, as the expert recalled, the North and South routes are being developed.
“Both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, as countries located at the junction of these transport corridors, are interested in expanding transport links and strengthening transit potential.
Considering the interest of Turkic and Arab countries in these events, I assume that the SCO will possibly include more Turkic countries and countries of the Arab world in the future. For example, Belarus is already becoming a full-fledged member. It turns out that the Shanghai “five” has turned into the Shanghai “ten”.
Now it is not only a regional, but also a transregional organization,” he said.
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