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Opinion | Western concerns about SCO ambitions must be allayed. Kazakhstan can help
- Kazakhstan and its role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation contribute to efforts to find common ground, promoting cooperation that fosters global stability
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The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) held its annual summit on July 4 in Astana, the capital of this year’s chair Kazakhstan. The increasing influence of the SCO – whose members represent more than 3 billion people, or about 40 per cent of the world’s population – should be noted by the global community given the membership of major powers such as China and Russia as well as influential middle powers such as India, Iran and Kazakhstan.
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As the SCO aims to play a larger role in global affairs, questions will arise about its ability to coexist peacefully with Western structures and countries, especially with the SCO chairmanship passing to China, a nation increasingly at odds with the West. As a country that has built good relations with both China and the West, Kazakhstan’s role within the SCO will be essential in addressing these concerns.
With Belarus joining as the SCO’s 10th member, the organisation now has even more of a border with Nato countries. While the SCO is not a military bloc like the transatlantic security alliance, Western powers will closely monitor the implications of the inclusion of Belarus on Eurasian security.
SCO members signed an array of economic and security agreements at the summit, aiming to strengthen the organisation’s economic influence through increased trade, investment and connectivity among its members. These connectivity efforts include China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, which traverses Kazakhstan to connect Asia to Europe and serve as an alternative to traditional routes.
The SCO contains substantial growth potential, with the economies of member countries showing growth rates between 4 and 9 per cent. These countries collectively account for about 30 per cent of the world’s GDP.
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Given its geostrategic position, favourable investment climate and abundant natural resources, Kazakhstan is also a contributor to this economic potential. All this means the rest of the world should take the SCO’s economic influence seriously.
02:25
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin hold talks on SCO sidelines in Kazakhstan
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin hold talks on SCO sidelines in Kazakhstan
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