"The World and Japan" Database (Project Leader: TANAKA Akihiko)
Database of Japanese Politics and International Relations
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS); Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia (IASA), The University of Tokyo

[Title] Statement of the SCO Heads of State Council on Ensuring Reliable, Sustainable and Diversified Supply Chains

[Place] Samarkand
[Date] September 16, 2022
[Source] Shanghai Cooperation Organization Secretariat
[Notes]
[Full text]

We, the heads of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (hereinafter the SCO) – the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan –

striving to accelerate the economic recovery in the SCO region in the face of global challenges, including the consequences of the pandemic, as well as to further deepen regional economic cooperation,

recognising the significant potential for mutual trade between the SCO member states and industrial development in the countries,

praising the work carried out within the SCO to maintain the stability of supply chains.

We believe that reliable, sustainable and diversified supply chains play an important role in ensuring economic development amid the ongoing spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

We emphasise the devastating impact of unilateral economic measures, which run counter to the general principles and rules of the WTO, and of measures regarding the financial systems of the SCO member states on the security and stability of supply chains, as well as on the multilateral trading system and all its participants.

We reaffirm our desire to ensure the resilience, reliability and stability of international supply chains, and maintain the openness and transparency of cooperation. We will promote the deepening of interaction in various sectors and the growth of mutual trade between the SCO member states, including in the following areas:

- ensuring the safe and uninterrupted functioning of international transport corridors, as well as developing the logistics infrastructure and improving its efficiency, including via the exchange of experience in these areas;

- ensuring uninterrupted trade in essential components of the production process, basic necessities and other goods, including through trade facilitation and reduction of trade barriers;

- facilitating the reduction of trade barriers to support the unimpeded movement of critical components of production and essential goods, as well as ensuring the mobility of service providers;

- promoting the development of further cooperation between interested SCO member states in order to expand settlements in national currencies;

- creating conditions for the development of electronic commerce through the exchange of experience and good practices in this area;

- supporting micro, small and medium-sized businesses in the SCO member states to effectively use the potential of e-commerce in their countries;

- deepening cooperation in creating high-tech type production chains and chains with a high level of processing of finished products, including by providing favourable conditions for access to modern technologies;

- strengthening investment cooperation in the field of the digital and green economy and sustainable development, and promoting the digital and low-emission transformation of production and supply chains in accordance with nationally determined contributions.

Considering the importance of uninterrupted trade and the greater flexibility and stability of supply chains in the region, the discussion of appropriate approaches in the above-mentioned areas will continue.

16 September 2022, Samarkand