In the 20th Meeting of SCO Ministers responsible for Foreign Economy and Foreign Trade held late Thursday and hosted by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Minister of State (MoS) for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel, in her intervention, stressed on the need for effective cooperation between SCO Member States for a balanced and equitable growth in trade and commerce. 

She proposed for creation of a new Special Working Group on Startups and Innovation and for setting up a new Expert Working Group on Cooperation in Traditional Medicine. 

She also stated that cooperation in the field of start-ups & innovation can be a focal point in reviving our economies from the consequences of the pandemic. With this in mind, she invited all SCO Member States to take part in the 2nd Start-up Forum on 27-28 October 2021, to be hosted by India. 

MoS highlighted that there is a significant gap in digital technologies between developed ang developing countries which needs to be narrowed down by building digital capacities.

On the environment issues she welcomed the need for environment protection and mitigation of adverse effects of climate change, she also stressed that the climate agenda should not introduce measures which becomes unnecessary barriers to trade.

In her concluding remarks, Anupriya Patel emphasized that SCO members must prepare, act and stand in solidarity with each other and pursue an agenda that is equitable and inclusive and development oriented.

The virtual meeting was attended by the Secretary General of SCO and Heads of Delegations of China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.