Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov attended a collective meeting of President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon with heads of delegations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states and meetings of the SCO Council of Heads of Government in narrow and expanded formats in Dushanbe.
The SCO Council meeting was attended by leaders and representatives of the governments of Belarus, India, Iran, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as representatives of Mongolia and Turkmenistan as guests of the host country, along with heads of permanent bodies and public organizations of the SCO.
In a narrow format, an exchange of views took place on the development of trade, economic, cultural, and humanitarian cooperation aimed at improving SCO activities. It was emphasized that the scale of the SCO economies, geographic connectivity, and complementarity of industrial capacities allow setting more ambitious goals. Attention was focused on building sustainable supply chains, launching joint industrial projects, and strengthening transport connectivity. The Kazakh side raised issues of energy and water security, including the implementation of the Strategy for Development of Energy Cooperation until 2030 and the establishment of the SCO Water Problems Analysis Center.
During the expanded-format meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government, issues regarding the further development of economic and humanitarian cooperation were reviewed, including through leveraging the potential of international partners. A report on the activities of the SCO Business Council and the SCO Interbank Consortium for 2025–2026 was presented.
It was noted that the SCO has established itself as an authoritative international structure possessing significant economic, human, and resource potential. In the rapidly changing international environment, the ability of states to adapt to new realities in a timely manner acquires special significance.
“Kazakhstan, under the leadership of President Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich Tokayev, is implementing a comprehensive program of political and economic modernization of the country. In July of this year, the new Constitution came into force, aimed at building a Just and Strong Kazakhstan. The steady development of each of our states strengthens the potential of the entire Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The scale of the SCO's economic opportunities is hard to overestimate. Our region represents one of the key hubs of the global economy, encompassing major manufacturing, energy, food, and consumer markets. I am confident that joining the efforts of our countries will provide additional impetus to the further expansion of trade and economic ties,” Olzhas Bektenov emphasized.
In his speech, the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan highlighted practical measures for expanding mutual trade, developing transport and logistics infrastructure, enhancing digital connectivity, and introducing artificial intelligence technologies.
Within trade and economic cooperation, the importance of further removing barriers and simplifying trade procedures was noted. Kazakhstan, as chair of the SCO Special Working Group, is systematically working to increase transparency, digitalization, and unification of all processes. An important area is the implementation of agreements to expand the use of national currencies in mutual settlements: their share in cross-border payments between the Republic of Kazakhstan and SCO member states has already reached almost 70%.
In transport connectivity, Kazakhstan proposed establishing a systematic dialogue on integrating the Belt and Road Initiative with existing and prospective transport corridors in the region, as well as defining key targets for forming a unified transport system in the Transport Connectivity Strategy until 2035. As part of implementing the Action Plan for the Development of SCO Ports and Logistics Centers until 2030, it was proposed to step up joint work on modernizing seaports and dry ports and increasing their capacity. One of the platforms for practical cooperation could be the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, with traffic volumes planned to reach 10 million tons per year.
In digitalization, prospects for expanding cooperation in artificial intelligence and exchanging technological solutions were discussed. Kazakhstan's experience in developing the digital economy was outlined.
“Implementing the Digital Qazaqstan strategy, we set a course toward building an advanced digital economy and an AI regional hub. In the last 5 years alone, our IT service exports have grown 34 times, reaching $1.1 billion. These are impressive figures that reflect the growing competitiveness of Kazakhstani digital solutions. We are determined to sustain these results and continue offering our services as a digital hub across the SCO space,” Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov noted.
Kazakhstan proposed using the potential of the UN ESCAP Asian and Pacific Centre for Digital Solutions in Almaty for technology exchange and scaling. An initiative to create a Network of Artificial Intelligence Centers under the SCO auspices was also voiced, aimed at uniting the technological and expert potential of member states.
Meeting participants confirmed their commitment to further strengthening multilateral cooperation within the SCO and readiness for the practical implementation of agreed decisions and documents.
Following the meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government, a number of documents were signed in multilateral trade and economic cooperation, transport communications, and the implementation of investment projects in industrial cooperation, among others. These included a Council decision on the Concept for creating a digital platform of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization for the development of international multimodal freight transport.
