Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday encouraged members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to use national currencies for “mutual settlement” and establish other financial mechanisms to “offset international financial shocks”.
He made the remarks while addressing the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe, where he arrived a day earlier.
The CHG is the SCO’s second-highest decision-making body and provides guidance on economic, financial, trade, connectivity and socio-economic cooperation, as well as the organisation’s budgetary matters.
Addressing the SCO meeting, Dar highlighted the “need to accelerate efforts to promote the use of national currencies for mutual settlement”, as well as to establish the SCO Development Bank and SCO development and investment funds.
“Such tools are measures which will advance development initiatives and help the SCO region to offset international financial shocks,” the former finance minister noted.
He highlighted that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) offered “every SCO partner a compelling opportunity to participate in and accelerate our shared journey towards comprehensive economic integration”.
At the outset of his speech, Dar extended his appreciation to the Tajik government and people for their “very warm and generous hospitality”.
“For the past 25 years, the SCO has remained anchored in the Shanghai spirit of mutual trust and respect for diversity and expanded its mandate to encompass trade, infrastructure, culture and innovation,” he noted.
Dar went on to state that Pakistan’s journey within the SCO highlighted its commitment to the Shanghai spirit, recalling that the country’s chairmanship of SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO-RATS) and the SCO Working Group on Poverty Alleviation.
He said Pakistan intended to highlight the role of small and medium enterprises in reducing poverty.
“For our region to achieve seamless economic integration, targeted investment in core sectors, most notably in energy and transport, is vital,” he stressed.
The deputy premier said Pakistan strongly advocated for “expanding investments into high-potential industries, including agriculture, mining and minerals, and information technology, to build a resilient and interconnected economic future”.
He expressed Pakistan’s “belief that artificial intelligence, digital transformation, innovation, energy cooperation and international information security should become important pillars of future cooperation within the SCO”.
Dar then recalled the priority areas identified by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the SCO Council of Heads of State (CHS) summit that Islamabad is set to host in 2027.
These comprised peace, security and mutual trust; regional connectivity and trade; innovation, AI and digital transformation; climate resilience and sustainable energy; and people-to-people exchanges.
Dar emphasised that strategic investment in transport and energy infrastructure was not merely beneficial but “absolutely imperative for true regional economic integration”.
Delegates welcomed in Dushanbe
Ahead of the SCO meeting today, DPM Dar called on Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, along with other heads of delegations, the Foreign Office (FO) said.
“President Rahmon welcomed the leaders and emphasised the importance of strengthening regional economic cooperation under the SCO to promote connectivity, stability and shared prosperity,” FO said.
He, along with other delegates, was then welcomed by PM Qohir Rasulzoda.
During his visit, Dar will also hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from SCO member states on the sidelines of the SCO moot, according to FO.
On Monday, Dar held a meeting with the Tajik premier. He also met with China’s PM Li Qiang and Mongolia’s First DPM Jadambyn Enkhbayar on the sidelines of a banquet dinner hosted for the delegates.
Pakistan, which hosted a CHG meeting in October 2024, is now scheduled to host the CHS summit in 2027 after it assumed the chairmanship last month.
On Sept 30, Dar reviewed preparations for the CHS summit as SCO national coordinators, who were in Islamabad for a meeting, called on him.
In July, Pakistan hosted the 12th meeting of the Heads of Border Services of the Competent Authorities of the SCO.