The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has become the world’s largest regional organisation, with its members representing about half of the global population, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.
“The SCO today is in fact the largest regional organisation in the world, where half of the world's population lives,” Putin said at the organisation’s summit in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital.
Putin said the SCO had made significant progress since its establishment 25 years ago and had evolved into an influential centre of the emerging multipolar world.
“Over 25 years, the organisation has come a truly long way,” he said, adding that Russia supports efforts to make the SCO’s work more effective.
He identified strengthening trade among SCO members as one of the organisation’s key priorities, highlighting the growing use of national currencies in mutual settlements.
According to Putin, more than 98 percent of Russia’s payments in trade with its SCO partners are now conducted in national currencies.
The SCO was established in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
It has since expanded to 10 full members, with India, Pakistan, Iran and Belarus joining the organisation.
Putin’s remarks come as the group seeks to deepen economic cooperation among its members while strengthening its role in an increasingly multipolar international system.
