Indian presidency of SCO strengthens regional cooperation: Uzbek envoy Dilshod Akhatov

Ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit next week, the Uzbekistan Ambassador to India Dilshod Akhatov has said that Tashkent supports events and initiatives under India's SCO presidency.

Speaking to WION’s diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal, ambassador Akhatov said, “The ongoing Indian Presidency of the SCO has shown that the Organisation is transforming into one of cultural-humanitarian and transport-economic cooperation.”India became a member of the grouping in 2017, and for the first time is chairing the group. It will be holding a virtual summit of the grouping on July 4.

The ambassador explained that SCO is a “key platform for India's interaction with Central Asia” and added, “SCO is a key platform for India's interaction with Central Asia.”

Iran will become a full member of the grouping during this year’s summit. Uzbekistan was the previous chair of the grouping and hosted the summit in Samarkand in September of 2022.

WION: How do you see the SCO Presidency of India?

Dilshod Akhatov: India, during its Presidency, also paid special attention to promoting partnerships in various fields, building trust and cooperation among the members of the Organization. International events under the Indian Chairmanship, in their essence and content, covered all key areas of relations between the countries of the region: economy, tourism, education, science, medicine, culture, etc. I remember well such events as the SCO Film Festival, SCO Cultural Showcase at the Surajkund Mela, the International Fusion Music Festival, conferences of young scientists, specialists in traditional medicine, discussion of start-up projects and much more. Tashkent supports India's initiatives put forward during these events. In general, the ongoing Indian presidency of the SCO has shown that the Organization is transforming into cultural-humanitarian and transport-economic cooperation. This approach undoubtedly serves to bring the SCO Member States closer together, reinforce mutual trust and respect with partner countries, and to ease tensions and build good neighbourly relations between countries with which they have clashes of interest. This approach will remain on the foreign policy agenda of the SCO Member States in the near future. First time, India has led this dynamically developing international structure, thereby starting a cycle of chairmanship with the participation of its new member states within the framework of the SCO.

WION: How do you see SCO as a platform that brings together, India and Central Asia?

Dilshod Akhatov: It is also very important for us that the SCO is a key platform for India's interaction with Central Asia. In the prospects for the development of mutually beneficial cooperation, interconnectedness plays a special role. As you know, connectivity has emerged as a crucial factor in promoting economic integration and fostering regional cooperation. The SCO, comprising eight Member States, recognizes the significance of connectivity in achieving its goals of regional stability, economic development, and people-to-people exchanges. I would like to recall that at the last SCO summit in Samarkand, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on the SCO member countries to provide transit access to each other and spoke in favour of expanding cooperation to ensure the sustainability of supply chains for the region. In this sense, the importance of efforts to use the port of Chabahar in Iran, a country that is also becoming a full member of the Organization, is multiplied. As noted by the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev in his speech at the “Voice of Global South” Summit in January 2023, our country fully supports the development of the “North-South” international corridor, which is one of the leading transport arteries in the Eurasian region and also promoted by India.

WION: You were the previous President of the grouping, so how do you view the initiatives taken under your Presidency?

Dilshod Akhatov: For Uzbekistan, this is also significant in that Delhi took over the Chairmanship from Tashkent. During the Presidency of our country last year, more than 80 major international events were successfully held at various levels. Despite the fact that this was the first Presidency of the SCO for India, the country has organized over 100 important events covering all facets of cooperation that are on the Organization's agenda. The SCO summit took place in Samarkand in 2022. As the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized, historically Samarkand has been a melting pot of ideas and knowledge. Overall, in the 22nd Summit of the Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in September 2022 in Samarkand, the Heads of States approved a lot of various decisions and agreements. The decisions concern the Comprehensive Action Plan for 2023-2027 for implementation of provisions of the Treaty on Long-term Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation, to develop Interconnectivity and Greate Efficient Transport Corridors.

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