On May 22-23, 2023, under the chairmanship of the Center for strategic research under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, was held the 18th Session of the Forum of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Dushanbe.
The SCO Forum is a multilateral, public consultation and expert mechanism formed to promote and scientifically support the activities of the SCO, develop cooperation between research centers of the SCO member states, conduct joint research on topical issues of the Organization’s terms of reference, clarify the tasks and principles of the SCO activities, expand its links with the scientific and public circles, as well as encouraging exchanges of views between scientists and experts in the fields of politics, security, economics, ecology, new technologies, humanitarian and other fields. The forum was established in 2006.
The Forum consists of one authoritative think tank from each SCO member states, which are determined in accordance with their internal procedures. These institutions have the status of the National Research Center of the SCO. From the Republic of Tajikistan, the Center for Strategic Research has the status of the national research center of the SCO Forum. Since the founding of the Forum till now, 17 meetings have been held under the chairmanship of the member countries of the organization. Previously, the Republic of Tajikistan chaired the Forum twice in 2010 and 2016 and held the 5th and 11th meetings of the forum at a high international level. The today meeting is the third period of the chairmanship of Tajikistan at the Forum.
It should be noted that the chairmanship of the SCO forum in 2022 passed from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations of the Russian Foreign Ministry to the Tajik side. The Forum meeting for the first time is being held offline after the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.The Forum will be attended by heads and specialists of research centers and scientific-analytical institutions of the member states, observer states, SCO dialogue partners, the leadership of the SCO Secretariat, representatives of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure and leading experts and journalists.
The conference was opened by the Director of the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, Corresponding Member of NAST Khayriddin Usmonzoda and congratulated the participants. Then, the Assistant of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan for Foreign Relations Azamsho Sharifi, the SCO Secretary General Chzhan Min (in a video message) and the former SCO Secretary General (2016-2018) Rashid Olimov, Acting National Coordinator of the Republic of Tajikistan for SCO Affairs Ahmed Saidmuradzoda, delivered an opening speech.
Then the heads of the delegation delivered a welcoming speech, Director General of the Indian Council of International Affairs Vijay Tkhakur Singkh, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of International Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China Zhong Ying, representative of the Center for East Asian and SCO Studies of the Institute of International Studies MGIMO of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation Konarovsky Mikhail Alekseevich, Director of the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Aripov Eldor Takhirovich, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Institute for Strategic Studies of Islamabad (online), Ambassador Khalid Mahmud, Director of the National Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Kanatbek Aziz.
The Forum of SCO was held in four sessions. During the meeting, was planned a wide exchange of views on the following agenda:
–SCO in the new global realities: current state, potential of the “SCO family”, prospects for the development of the organization;
- Strategic guidelines for the SCO in the context of the formation of a multipolar world;
- SCO security policy in the face of changing forms, nature, geography and scale of traditional challenges and threats;
- Information and network challenges: measurement of threats, national counteraction practices and mechanisms for the exchange of experience within the framework of the SCO;
- New trends in the cooperation of the SCO states in the new world order: prospects for inclusive economic, innovative, technological development;
- Migration processes in the area of responsibility of the SCO: state, main vectors and problems of their regulation;
- Humanitarian cooperation within the framework of the SCO: achievements, place and role of science, education and culture in the deepening of integration processes;
- Prospects and achievement of economic unity within the framework of the SCO: an interbank association, a single financial system, a single transport network and a single system for monitoring cargo flows;
- Formation of new areas of cooperation within the framework of the SCO: on the development of the «green» economy, «green» energy, environmental protection and measures to prevent climate change.
From Tajikistan side at the first session of the SCO Forum entitled “SCO in new global realities: current state, potential of the “SCO family”, development prospects” spoke Director of the Center for Strategic Research under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Chairman of the SCO Forum, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Science Khairiddin Usmonzoda on the topic: “Prospects of cooperation between SCO analytical centers in the changing conditions of the world order”, Deputy Director of the Center for Strategic Research under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Doctor of Political Sciences Parviz Muhammadzoda on the topic: “SCO in the new global realities: a view from Tajikistan”, in the second session of the Forum Meeting entitled “Strategic guidelines of the SCO in the context of the formation of a multipolar world” Professor of the Department of Foreign Regional Studies and Foreign Policy of the RTSU Guzel Maitdinova on the topic: “Coupling of the SCO, OBOR, EAEU, national development strategies of the states of Central Asia in the new world order: strategic guidelines, potential, prospects”, in the fourth session under the title: “New trends in the cooperation of the SCO states in the new world order: prospects for inclusive economic, innovative, technological and humanitarian development”, doctor of economic sciences, Head of the Department of Theoretical Research and International Relations of the Institute of Economics and Demography of the National Academy of Science of Tajikistan, Mavzuna Karimova on the topic: “Cooperation of the Republic of Tajikistan with the SCO countries to ensure food security”
The participants of the SCO Forum expressed their position on the basis of the presented reports, as well as analyzed and assessed the state and prospects for further development of cooperation between the SCO member countries.
Deputy General Secretary of the SCO Shuhrat Sobirzoda during his speech noted the importance of coordinating actions and activities, exchanging information and providing mutual support, jointly countering terrorism and extremism, strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation in the political and economic spheres, in the field of security, economics and trade, effective implementation of economic, transit and transport potential, healthcare, culture, education and tourism of the SCO member states and praised the work of the 18th Session of the SCO Forum.
At the end of the conference, the heads of the representatives of the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization signed the final protocol of the 18th Session of the SCO Forum.
The 18th meeting of the SCO was concluded and summarized by the Deputy General Secretary of the SCO Shuhrat Sobirzoda and the Director of the Strategic Research Center under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Khayriddin Usmonzoda, thanked the participants of the conference and expressed their confidence that the held conference will help for the development and expansion of further beneficial cooperation between member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
On the sidelines of the SCO Forum, the leadership of the Center for Strategic Research under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan held a bilateral meeting with a number of heads of delegations of representatives of the SCO member states.
The conference was held in the spirit of sincerity, good understanding and constructive dialogue.
At the end of the conference, was held the ceremony of handing over the chairmanship of the SCO Forum. Director of the Center for Strategic Research under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Chairman of the SCO Forum Khayriddin Usmonzoda solemnly handed over the symbol of the SCO Forum to the Director of the Center for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Eldor Oripov. The Uzbek side is responsible for the presidency of this prestigious organization in 2023-2024.
After the conference, the participants of the 18th Session of the SCO Forum visited the city of Rogun, got acquainted with the construction of the great facility of the century — the «Rogun» hydropower plant.
The Roghun Dam is an embankment dam under construction on the Vakhsh River in southern Tajikistan. The dam is situated 110 km from Dushanbe. It is one of the planned hydroelectric power plants of Vakhsh Cascade.
Rogun was listed as the highest dam in the world — 335 metres. The hydroelectric power plant is expected to have six turbines with combined capacity of 3600 MW. When complete, it is expected to produce 17.1 TWh of electrical work per year.
Construction of the dam began in the Soviet era, in 1976, but was abandoned in 1993 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. On October 29, 2016 Tajik President Emomali Rahmon officially launched the construction of the dam. At the ceremony, the river’s flow was ceremonially diverted through the reconstructed diversion tunnels. The power plant’s first unit was commissioned in November 2018, which attended by representatives of a number of foreign states, in particular the countries participating in the CASA-1000 project, international organizations, diplomats and journalists from the world’s leading media, and second in September 2019. In mid-July 2022 concrete pouring commenced on the main dam core.
After acquainting with the construction of the great facility of the century — the «Rogun» hydropower plant, the participants of the 18th Session of the SCO Forum returned to Dushanbe with a great impression.
The conference was held in the spirit of sincerity, good understanding and constructive dialogue.
Press service of the Center for strategic
research under the President of
the Republic of Tajikistan
