Pakistan urges SCO to boost connectivity, trade in local currencies
“At the SCO Heads of Government meeting, Pakistan pressed for trade in local currencies, stronger transport and energy links, and activation of SCO financial instruments.”
Key points
- At the SCO Heads of Government meeting, Pakistan pressed for trade in local currencies, stronger transport and energy links, and activation of SCO financial instruments.
- Ishaq Dar also held multiple bilateral meetings, tying economic integration to regional stability.
Pakistan called for faster regional integration at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s Council of Heads of Government meeting in Moscow, urging member states to strengthen transport links, energy corridors and digital connectivity.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar advocated settling trade in national currencies and proposed activating new financial tools, including an SCO Development Bank, Development Fund and Investment Fund, to ease project financing across the bloc.
Dar met Russian and Chinese leaders on the sidelines, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Premier Li Qiang, and discussed expanding cooperation in trade, logistics, technology and disaster preparedness. He also held talks with senior officials from Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan on broadening bilateral ties under the SCO framework.
In his interventions at both the narrow and expanded sessions, Dar linked durable regional growth with stability in Afghanistan and encouraged deeper engagement with Observer and Partner States. He also called for modernising the organisation’s working methods and strengthening people-to-people and academic links through an upgraded SCO University Network.
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