China-SCO Economic, Trade Conference held in Qingdao

BEIJING: Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Deputy Secretary-General Sohail Khan attended a conference of the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area in Qingdao, China.
Representatives of the embassies of SCO countries in China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce and other relevant ministries of the PRC, along with financial institutions, participated in the event, according to SCO Secretariat here.
Sohail Khan noted that it is impossible to develop the SCO without the active work of its member states, the support of concerned ministries and agencies, the efforts of diplomatic missions, and the cooperation of trade offices.
The demonstration area, which has gained solid experience in various areas of trade and economic cooperation since 2018, has played an important role in implementing many SCO projects on the economic track, studying new approaches to building systematic cooperation and deepening trade and economic interaction between the SCO family countries.
It’s relevant to mention here that India has formally sent invitations to all members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) including Pakistan and China for the upcoming foreign ministers’ meeting which will be held in Goa from May 4-5.
The invitation includes invites to the new foreign minister of China Qin Gang and Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto.
India took over the chairmanship of the 9-member mega grouping in September of last year and will be holding key ministerial meetings and the summit this year.
The 20-year-old organization has Russia, India, China, Pakistan, and four central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan as its members.
Iran is the latest country to become a member and under Indian Presidency will for the first time attend the grouping’s meeting as a full-fledged member.