Mirziyoyev proposes establishing SCO regional center for strategic materials

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed the creation of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Regional Center for Strategic Materials on September 1 at the SCO summit in Tianjin, China.

“Taking into account current trends in the global economy, we attach priority to expanding trade and economic cooperation. We are committed to forming sustainable models of economic cooperation in our vast region,” Mirziyoyev said.

The Uzbek leader stressed that signing an Agreement on Trade Facilitation Procedures within the SCO framework is a key task that would help increase regional trade turnover. He emphasized the need to develop reliable production and logistics chains and promote mutual investments.

“In this regard, I propose establishing an SCO Regional Center for Strategic Materials to introduce advanced technologies in the extraction and deep processing of minerals,” Mirziyoyev said.

He also suggested creating several new multilateral platforms and tools to support cooperation, including an SCO Energy Consortium, a network of venture companies and funds for startups and innovative projects, and a dedicated electronic portal to foster business dialogue and investment. He added that these initiatives would contribute to coordinated policies and accelerate the development of green energy across SCO member states.

“It is important to quickly introduce effective tools for financial support of regional industrial and infrastructure projects. We propose revisiting this issue at the level of authorized ministers,” he said.

Mirziyoyev underlined the importance of fully utilizing transport and transit potential along North-South and East-West routes. He highlighted the significance of developing southern corridors through Central Asia to ports in the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.

“We see great opportunities to coordinate efforts to form a ‘single SCO transport space’ and link it with the Belt and Road Initiative. This involves creating new multimodal networks, digital platforms, and green corridors. We propose developing a multilateral concept for this purpose,” the president noted.

The Uzbek leader also called for expanding SCO cooperation in green transformation, describing the adoption of China’s proposed Declaration on Cooperation in Green Industry as timely.

“It is necessary to launch a regional platform on climate adaptation, emission reduction, and the use of artificial intelligence to predict environmental risks,” he said.

Mirziyoyev stressed the value of deepening cultural ties and strengthening people-to-people diplomacy within the SCO.

“International folk art festivals, an online campus of the SCO University network, and annual competitions and Olympiads for students and young professionals in innovative fields could give a strong boost to humanitarian exchanges and bring our peoples closer. We also propose projects such as a Tourism Corridor and the launch of the SCO Medical Tourism Alliance,” he said.

The SCO summit is taking place in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1, with more than 20 heads of state and representatives of 10 international organizations in attendance. Fifteen new cooperation agreements are expected to be signed. The SCO was founded in Shanghai on June 15, 2001, with Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan as founding members. India and Pakistan joined in 2017, Iran in 2023, and Belarus in 2024.