Kazakhstan SCO Leader’s summit (UPDATE & Brought forward in time)
Ed Note: What is public and what we can find out, we will post here for the next days. This thread will be updated. Kindly note this is not an analysis but it is currently a fount for information. I find generally so few people know anything about SCO in detail (myself included) that we need more information. In the first part of the article, I mentioned that statistics are difficult to find. Hard numbers are now appearing and I’m appending them to the end.
Xi Jinping has just arrived in Kazakhstan for the summit, as well as a state visit. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202407/1315286.shtml
Astana Summit: A New Era for Cooperation and Expansion https://astanatimes.com/2024/07/sco-astana-summit-a-new-era-for-cooperation-and-expansion/”
UPDATE: There is not much news out as yet. There are lots of pictures of everyone meeting everyone else in sideline or bilateral meetings, but no ‘beef’ yet.
We are not creating any blocs or alliances, we are simply acting in the interests of our peoples, Putin emphasized at negotiations with China’s Xi Jinping at the SCO summit.
Committed To North-South Transport Corridor Expansion, Azerbaijan President Aliyev Tells President Putin
The route is increasingly pivotal for international freight transportation, and will link Russia’s Baltic coast to India.
Compared to traditional routes through the… pic.twitter.com/f75rZdNbmT
— RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 3, 2024
Statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting at the SCO summit in Astana
🔻Key statements by Vladimir Putin:
▪️Russia-China relations, built on the principles of equality and mutual respect, are currently experiencing the best period in their history;
▪️Last year, the tourist flow between Russia and China amounted to more than 1.2 million trips;
▪️The cooperation between Russia and China is not directed against anyone, we are simply acting in the interests of our peoples;
▪️The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is one of the key pillars of a fair multipolar world order;
▪️Russia-China interaction in world affairs is one of the main stabilizing factors on the international stage, and we continue to strengthen our cooperation in this direction.
🔻Key statements by Xi Jinping:
▪️The agreements reached between China and Russia are being fully implemented, and cooperation in the designated areas is progressing smoothly;
▪️In the face of a complex international situation, Russia and China need to maintain their commitment to eternal friendship and work for the well-being of our peoples, as well as make efforts to protect our legitimate rights and interests;
▪️Tomorrow’s summit in Astana will be a crucial event for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization this year.
The global trade value of SCO members has grown from $667 billion when it was founded in Shanghai in 2001 to $8.04 trillion in 2022, according to the Chinese government statistics.
▪️ The SCO states cover around 80 percent of the Eurasian landmass and have a population of over 3.5 billion people (https://t.me/SputnikInt/32897), with a 25 percent share of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP).
▪️ Twenty percent of the world’s oil reserves and 44 percent of its natural gas are located in SCO states.
SCO is showing signs of growing like BRICS
First meeting in SCO plus format to be held on July 4 in Astana — Russian President’s aide
MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/. The first meeting of the SCO plus format on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit will be held on July 4 in Astana, Russian presidential aide for international affairs Yury Ushakov told reporters.
“On July 4, a meeting will take place in the “SCO plus” format. This format is designated as “SCO plus” for the first time. Previously, all invited countries were represented at an expanded meeting of the SCO. <…> Now a new format has been officially proclaimed,” the Kremlin representative noted.
The topic of the meeting is “Strengthening multilateral dialogue – the pursuit of sustainable peace and development.”
As Ushakov reported, among those who were invited to the first meeting in the SCO plus format are President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, President of Mongolia Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, President of Turkey Tayyip Erdogan, the ruler of the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, a member of the Supreme Council of the Emirates Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi and Chairman of the People’s Council of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
According to the Kremlin representative, the meeting will also be attended by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov, CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev, as well as representatives of the EEC, the Islamic Organization for Food Security, the CSTO, CICA, and the Economic Cooperation Organization.
The SCO summit will be held on July 4 at the Palace of Independence in Astana. It is expected that SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming will attend the summit. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the leaders of several international organizations were also invited.
The SCO was founded on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai. Initially the organization included Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, in 2017 they were joined by India and Pakistan. Tehran applied to join in 2008 and became a full-fledged member of the organization in July 2023. Belarus is expected to join the group soon.
ASTANA, July 3. /TASS/. The United Nations is ready to cooperate with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in resolving and preventing conflicts, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in an interview with Kazakhstan’s Silk Way TV channel.
“We can work together first of all, in the prevention of conflict. It’s good to solve a conflict; it’s better to avoid it. <…> We can work together in counterterrorism,” he said. “Our Office of Counterterrorism is ready to fully cooperate with the Shanghai Cooperation Council in relation to your own concerns in relation to violent extremism and terrorism.”
The global organization’s chief said both the UN and the SCO are committed to peace, dialogue and problem solving. They also share a similar vision of a world that is not divided or fragmented.
“I think the cooperation of the UN and the Shanghai Cooperation Council can contribute to this bringing together different parts of the world, and to limit the damage caused by the fact that the superpowers are at odds with each other,” he said. “When the superpowers are at odds with each other, countries like Kazakhstan have a very important role. And organizations like the Shanghai Cooperation Council have a very important role to make sure that we are able to address the conflicts.”
In an earlier interview with TASS First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman, Guterres said that international organizations, such as the SCO, BRICS, the African Union or the Organization of Islamic Cooperation are among essential partners of the United Nations. In his opinion, there is a number of situations “in which the regional organizations can solve problems the UN cannot solve.”
Russia will hold a UN Security Council meeting on cooperation between the UN, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on July 19, during Russia’s presidency at the decision-making body of the United Nations.
SCO countries increasing use of national currencies in settlements, share in Russia’s transactions with organization’s participants exceeds 92%, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
Key points:
🔺The Istanbul agreements on Ukraine remain “on the table” and may form the basis of peace negotiations
🔺The basic values and ideals of the SCO are shared by many countries in the world
🔺The SCO always proceeds from the importance of taking into account the opinions of the maximum range of partners
Main points of SCO declaration in Astana:
◾️The leaders of the SCO member states are concerned about the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and consider it important to reach a settlement based on a fair solution to the Palestinian issue
◾️The SCO opposes unilateral sanctions that undermine global trade
◾️The SCO will work toward creating an investment fund for the organization
◾️Interaction within the SCO may become the basis for building a new security architecture in Eurasia
◾️The SCO countries that are parties to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty stand for compliance with its provisions and promotion of its goals
◾️The SCO countries consider it important to implement the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program in accordance with the UN resolution
◾️The SCO states expressed their readiness to support international efforts to ensure peace and development in Afghanistan, while reaffirming their commitment to establishing a neutral and peaceful Afghanistan
◾️The leaders of the SCO member countries advocate keeping space free of any type of weapons
Key statements by Putin after the SCO summit in Astana:
➡️The leadership of Ukraine is in power illegally, making it pointless to appeal to the Verkhovna Rada under current conditions.
➡️Russia takes Trump’s statements about the possibility of stopping the conflict in Ukraine seriously, but the Russian leader has not seen any specific proposals from the former president.
➡️Moscow will not agree to a ceasefire before the start of peace negotiations with Ukraine in the hope of reciprocal positive steps: it cannot allow the enemy to take advantage of this and improve their positions.
➡️No mediator in resolving the conflict with Ukraine can be given the authority to sign final documents. However, Moscow welcomes the mediation itself.
➡️On the potential deployment of medium- and short-range missiles: if US systems appear somewhere, Russia may act reciprocally.
➡️The issue of creating a legal framework for international security and strategic stability is currently on the agenda, and Russia has formulated its proposals.
➡️Dialogue on strategic stability should primarily be conducted with the US, but there is nothing to discuss in this regard until the presidential elections there are over.
Chinese President Xi Jinping stated at the SCO summit that China welcomes all parties to use the BeiDou satellite navigation system and participate in the construction of the International Lunar Research Station.
Western mainstream media about SCO: from rejection to acceptance and respect
The attitude of mainstream Western media to Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) progressed from initial disbelief and disdain to today’s acknowledgement and sometimes even admiration.
🌏 On the first day of the SCO summit in Astana The New York Times (NYT) came out with a respectful headline: “How Russia and China Compete, and Cooperate in Central Asia.” Obviously, the perception that SCO is about cooperation, not dominance – that perception is sinking into Western minds. But the process is slow. In 2017, 16 years after SCO’s birth, The Economist described it by a headline: “Russia is becoming economically, politically and technologically dependent on China.”
🌏 The other Western stereotype about SCO was that it is China’s project, bureaucratic and “useless,” unable to attract new members.
🌏 “Bigger, Not Better: Russia Makes the SCO a Useless Club,” wrote Carnegie Endowment in the headline on its site in 2017. But here is yesterday’s headline from CNN: “A growing club led by Xi and Putin to counter the US is adding a staunchly pro-Russia member.” Belarus joined. (https://t.me/geopolitics_live/27892) So, how can SCO be “useless” and “pro-China,” if new “pro-Russian” members are joining?
🌏 Western belief in some “weakness” of the SCO stayed alive for a long time: in 2022, WSJ headlined its story “The SCO’s Clumsy Push to Disrupt the World Order.” The author still believed that Western-led order is the only one possible. He also expected a “rift” between Russia and PRC. But here is yesterday’s headline from WP: “Leaders of Russia and China meet in a show of deepening cooperation.”
So, the mythical “rift” between Russia and PRC recedes into the future, while inside Western societies we see some obvious rifts now. The elections under presidents Biden and Macron are good examples.