SCO has become important global economic and political player – Nazarbayev

    Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has given a media briefing in Tashkent after the meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council, Kazinform learned from a press statement from Ak Orda.
    During the briefing, the president touched upon key outcomes of his participation in the event.
    “In my opinion, the SCO held today one of the most historically important summits. As one of the initiators of organization’s establishment, Kazakhstan stood at the origins of its birth together with other five countries. To date, our organization which prioritizes expanding economic cooperation, has turned into the most important global player in the economy and politics,” he said.
    The president said that key documents on the accession of India and Pakistan into the SCO were signed during the summit.
    “Due to the accession of India and Pakistan to the SCO, it has turned into a more global organization covering most territory of Eurasia, uniting half of population of the world and 20% of world economies. The unification of the SCO member states through the transport and logistics points, opening economic borders and revival of the Great Silk Road enables Kazakhstan to get more advantages in the future,” said Nazarbayev.
    The president also discussed the main outcomes of the bilateral negotiations held on the sidelines of the event.
    “At the meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, we discussed the prospects for establishment of more than 50 joint enterprises which are called on to play an important role in industrialization of our country. During the talks with the president of Afghanistan, we discussed the situation in this country. Kazakhstan continues to help Afghanistan to teach its students. 150 graduates have already returned to their home country. In addition, we admit up to 50 Afghan students to our universities each year, thus helping Afghanistan's recover its economy,” he added.
    Nazarbayev also noted that the next SCO Summit will take place in Astana on June 8-9, 2017.
    Upon completion of the briefing, the president said he was satisfied with the outcomes of the summit and pointed to its timeliness and importance for the country, Kazinform reports.