SCO member states must join hands to promote mutual trust and human-centric development: Chairman National Chapter of SCO in India

Oct 29, 2020

NEW DELHI, 29 October 2020 : Mr Shiv Khemka, Chairman National Chapter of SCO in India and Vice Chairman, SUN Group, yesterday called for a five-pronged approach to strengthen intra- SCO cooperation in consultation and through the mechanism of the SCO Business Council.

 

Addressing the 19th Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Ministers responsible for Foreign Economy and Foreign Trade Activities, Mr Shiv Khemka, Chairman National Chapter of SCO in India and Vice Chairman, SUN Group, congratulated Russia, SCO Presidency on a successful term. He mentioned that the COVID-19 pandemic has driven the world into a humanitarian and economic crisis where the consumer and business confidence have received a deadly blow. He talked about the SCO multilateral trade and economic cooperation Vision of 2035 and called for "SCO Member States to join hands to promote mutual trust and human-centric development along with prioritising human capital". He stated that, "With a wealth of talent and resources, SCO is an attractive partner in international economic and financial markets and provides a sizeable domestic market with a young and skilled workforce".

 

Mr Khemka remarked that, as the business secretariat of SCO in India, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry stands committed towards strengthening and developing the vision of SCO.He also proposed a four-pronged strategy to ensure compliance of Indian businesses with the Shanghai Spirit.

 

He also commented on India's stance on Vocal for Local in terms of entrepreneurial spirit and resilience of the Indian industry as well as the manufacturing of PPE kits by 1100 companies and employment opportunities for 1 million women.

 

Talking about the WHO traditional medicine strategy 2014-2023, Mr Khemka emphasised on the need for promoting the safe and effective use of traditional medicine by regulating, researching and integrating traditional medicine products, practitioners and practice into health systems by SCO member states.

 

He further stated that, special encouragement of MSMEs and Start-Ups in the cooperation between innovation clusters, technology parks and high-tech companies, knowledge-intensive solutions and digital technologies, development and financing of entrepreneurship in innovative areas especially social innovation are crucial for which FICCI would play a part in developing an ecosystem with other partners in SCO region.

 

Speaking on Ease of Doing Business, where India has been ranked at 63rd position out of 190 countries, Mr Khemka opined that there is a need for creating an entrepreneurship ecosystem especially the MSMEs which are the backbone of our economies, focussing on social entrepreneurship and environment, SGDs, climate change for building sustainable energy and  consumption in the SCO Member States. He also noted that structural reforms, labour reforms including the Industrial Relations Code, the social security code, and the occupational safety, health and working conditions code will all go a long way in enhancing the ease of doing business.

 

Mr Khemka also touched upon two major aspects of connectivity (physical and digital) with SCO countries, the importance of development of tourism for regional and multilateral cooperation within SCO as well as food security and smart agriculture for developing systems across the value chain and building capacity for a productive and efficient agricultural ecosystem.

 

He concluded by mentioning that these five aspects resonate with the idea of promoting Start-up ecosystem and poverty alleviation, key priorities for SCO.

 

Mr Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, India appreciated the remarks made by Mr Shiv Khemka and noted that the mutual trust and human-centric development will define the future world order and economic development. He also opined that India's association with the SCO Members dates back centuries and the countries share a legacy which forms the basis of regional cooperation, trade and economic ties and people-to-people exchanges. He also remarked that the five-pronged approach needs to be taken up aggressively by the Member States, National Chapters and SCO Secretariat to create a mutual consensus for greater engagement and mutual areas of interest'