Pakistan Plays Multidimensional Role In SCO: Chinese Scholar

BEIJING, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Jul, 2025) As a formal member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Pakistan plays a multidimensional and important role in the organization, particularly demonstrating its significant influence in areas such as security cooperation, economic connectivity, poverty reduction and sustainable development, Prof Cheng Xizhong, Senior Research Fellow at the Charhar Institute said on Saturday.

China will host the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference from July 17 to 18 this year, in Qingdao, and Pakistan will send a delegation to participate in this important event.

First, Pakistan has long been on the front line of counter-terrorism, and its participation in cooperation with the Regional Anti-terrorist Structure (RATS) of the SCO has direct practical significance.

From 2025 to 2026, Pakistan will serve as the rotating chairman of RATS, which will further strengthen its leadership in coordinating intelligence sharing and joint operations among member countries, he said in a statement.

Second, as a neighboring country of Afghanistan, Pakistan plays a pivotal role in the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group. By encouraging member states to provide economic assistance to Afghanistan and engage in security dialogue with the country, Pakistan is helping to alleviate regional instability.

Third, as the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor not only has improved Pakistan's domestic infrastructure, but also has connected Central Asian countries with the Indian Ocean.

Joint Communique of the 23rd Meeting of Council of Heads of Government of SCO member states in Islamabad explicitly included CPEC in the regional connectivity strategic framework.

Fourth, he said, as the permanent Chair of the SCO Special Working Group on Poverty, Pakistan has led the establishment of the "Digital Social Safety Net" framework.

By integrating China's big data technology, this mechanism has provided precise assistance to 2.3 million impoverished families in Pakistan and plans to expand to other member countries of the Shanghai Organization by 2026.

Fifth, Pakistan has collaborated with China’s Northwest A&F University to establish a joint laboratory for stress resistant breeding, successfully cultivating drought resistant cotton and cold resistant wheat varieties. These technologies have been promoted in Central Asian countries such as Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, resulting in an average increase of 30% in grain yield. In 2025, Pakistan will host the SCO Agricultural Technology Expo to promote the transformation of agricultural scientific and technological achievements among member states.

Prof Cheng said that Pakistan's geographical location connecting South Asia, Central Asia and the middle East makes it a key node in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's "East-West Connectivity".

Pakistan's role in the SCO has been upgraded from a "participant" to a "designer". Pakistan has built a solid foundation for regional stability through security cooperation, activated regional development momentum through the economic corridor, and shaped a new paradigm of cooperation through poverty reduction and green transformation.

Despite internal economic pressures and external geopolitical challenges, Pakistan continues to inject practical value into the vision of the SCO with its unique strategic location and pragmatic attitude towards cooperation.

In the days to come, with the implementation of the "Sustainable Development Year" series of projects in 2025, Pakistan is expected to further become a model for South-South cooperation, he added.

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