Putin: SCO Is ‘Powerful Driver for Global Development Processes’
Sept. 3—Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Heads of State Council Meeting Sept. 1 that the SCO “a powerful driver for global development processes.” He covered many points, including the basis for resolving the Ukraine crisis, which he said was created by NATO's expansion eastward, which he termed an existential threat to Russia. On the SCO economic perspective, he proposed building a new investment platform for the SCO member nations, similar to what he is proposing for the BRICS, and stated that the SCO should replace the failed, destructive “Eurocentric and Euro-Atlantic” models in Eurasia.
Putin opened his speech by invoking the May 9 celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War “and the defeat of Nazi Germany” that were held in Moscow, and praised the Sept. 3 “large-scale events [that] will take place in Beijing to commemorate the victory over Japanese militarism and the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.”
He also singled out for praise the Tianjin Declaration, which the SCO is issuing at the conclusion of this conference, and the SCO Development Strategy through 2035, a ten-year perspective for the SCO’s future growth.
Putin stated that “the pace of cooperation within the SCO is truly impressive,” and cited that the industrial output of the SCO in 2024 grew by 4.6%, which dwarfs anything achieved in the so-called “industrial nations.”
Putin, who is this year’s SCO “honored guest,” unveiled sweeping proposals for the SCO in investment and credit, which have the support of the SCO leadership. He asserted, “We advocate the issuance of joint bonds by the SCO member states, the establishment of our own payment, settlement and depository infrastructure, and the creation of a bank for joint investment projects. These measures will increase the efficiency of our economic exchanges and protect them from external market fluctuations.” The idea of an SCO bank for joint investments is included in the organization’s final “Tianjin Declaration.” At the BRICS summit in October 2024 in Kazan, Russia, host President Vladimir Putin urged the creation of a BRICS investment platform, which has yet to be developed.
Putin said the SCO is ushering in a new system of cooperation and development, to replace the harmful “Eurocentric” model that now dominates. “There is no doubt that the SCO makes a tangible contribution to strengthening an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual trust across the entire Eurasian continent,” Putin emphasized. In doing so, "it helps lay the political and socioeconomic foundations for a new system of stability, security and peaceful development in Eurasia—a system that would replace outdated Eurocentric and Euro-Atlantic models, take into account the interests of the widest possible range of countries, and be genuinely balanced, thus preventing attempts by some states to ensure their own security at the expense of others."