Indian Council of World Affairs

Excellences,

Distinguished Scholars,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am grateful for giving me the chance to take part in the XX Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Forum on behalf of the SCO Secretariat.

It is an honour to take the floor at such an important think tank.

First of all, let me express my gratitude to the Indian Council of World Affairs for organizing this significant event and giving me the opportunity to address such a distinguished gathering of experts and analysts.

I would also like to take this opportunity to convey the greetings of SCO Secretary General Mr.Nurlan Yermekbayev who is currently attending another SCO event and wishes the participants of this meeting fruitful work!

Today we welcome for the first time representatives of the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Research that officially joined the mechanism in 2024 following the Republic of Belarus becoming a member state of the SCO. I have no doubt that you could bring a fresh perspective to our analytic work.

Distinguished Colleagues,

We gather here at a moment of historic transformation. The world is going through an era of significant and profound changes affecting all aspects of international relations, from politics to economics. The post-Cold War unipolar order, characterized by domination of superpowers, is gradually giving way to a more complex, multimodal, and pluralistic international system, opening up wide opportunities for the development of countries and strengthening partnerships.

In this transition, the role of regional multilateral structures such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is critical. The choice made by the SCO Member States at the beginning of the 21st century has become a vivid example of the harmony of good-neighborly and cooperative relations and continues to serve as evidence of the strength and steadfastness of the "shanghai spirit" and today the SCO needs to adapt quickly to the evolving situation without betraying our values and principles. In this regard, the analytical work is acquiring particular significance today.

We consider the activity of such a consultative and expert mechanism as the SCO Forum, which has established itself as an important platform for discussing topical issues of the Organization’s activities, to be extremely important.

It was set up to assist and provide expert support to the SCO activities, to develop interaction between research and political science centers of member states, to conduct joint research, to comprehend and re-evaluate the goals, objectives and principles of the SCO's activities and to expand its dialogue with the public.

This is enshrined in the Astana Declaration which states that the Member States confirmed their intention to promote cooperation between analytical and expert centers of the SCO member states. They welcomed the results of the 19th meeting of the SCO Forum (Tashkent, 5-6 June 2024) and underlined the importance of this advisory and expert mechanism for a permanent exchange of views among scientists and experts of the Organization’s members.

From our perspective, it would be extremely important to maximize the involvement of the expert and analytical community in conducting a full-fledged "track two diplomacy," which would feed the process of interstate decision-making in the areas of politics and security, economic and humanitarian realms.

We have no doubt that distinguished scholars and experts are able to look at the SCO topical issues from historical perspective directed towards the future. We hope that this meeting will achieve tangible results, bring new ideas for the further development of the SCO.

Dear friends!

The current meeting of the SCO Forum is themed as "Secure SCO: Leading Towards a Transformed Region in the Spirit of ‘The World is one Family’".

Unfortunately, nowadays our world is facing numerous challenges. The use of forceful methods is intensifying, international law is being systematically violated, geopolitical confrontation and conflicts are escalating, and risks to stability are increasing not only in the SCO region, but also in the other parts of the world.

In the context of the current geopolitical tensions, the SCO is prepared to provide initiatives aimed at maintaining peace and stability in the global context.

One of these was the SCO Initiative "On World Unity for a Just Peace, Harmony and Development", proposed at the summit in Astana. This initiative underlines the SCO's unwavering commitment to the formation of a more representative, democratic, just and multipolar world order.

The SCO has reaffirmed its dedication to building a just, inclusive, and multipolar world order — one that upholds international law, strengthens collective benefit, and ensures that prosperity is shared by all. In an era of uncertainty, our strength lies in unity; our progress depends on partnership; and our future rests on the values we hold in common.

I thank you once again for your warm hospitality and look forward to greater collaboration between the SCO national research institutions.

*****