The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has played a vital role in Kyrgyzstan's development, Kyrgyz experts told Xinhua on Thursday. [Special coverage]
Kyrgyzstan's membership in the SCO allows it to use all the benefits the country has to offer in the era of the Great Silk Road, said Zhymakadyr Akeneyev, who is a member of the Council for Statistics under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic.
"Using the SCO platform, we can discuss with China and other SCO member states absolutely all the issues that concern our country. The SCO allows us to use all our available capacity in the economy, geopolitics, culture and education," he said.
Akeneyev also praised the SCO's role in promoting bilateral relations between Kyrgyzstan and China, stressing that Kyrgyzstan has become better known in the world thanks to the bloc.
The expert believed that membership of new countries in the organization benefits Kyrgyzstan because it presents new opportunities for the country's economy to develop.
India and Pakistan signed the SCO's Memorandum of Obligations in June, kick-starting the process of their accession into the group, which also has a number of observers and dialogue partners.
Igor Shestakov, co-chairman of the "Pikir" regional club of experts in Kyrgyzstan, said that India and Pakistan are interested in entering the Central Asian market. "The SCO can become a tool to establish more effective trade and economic relations with the Central Asian region and other members of the organization," he said.
Shestakov added that the SCO might become an interstate platform to help resolve political problems between countries like India and Pakistan.
"In any case, the accession of these countries to the organization can enhance the image of the SCO on the international arena," he said.
"The latest developments in the world, including sanctions against Russia and creation of the Eurasian Union, brought SCO countries closer, and it became not only a platform to discuss some problems, but also an organization that can really offer projects that are mutually beneficial to the participating countries," he added.
Speaking about the SCO's role in fighting terrorism and extremism, Shestakov said it is a key responsibility of the organization. "Today, we see that challenges that face the SCO countries are the same," he said. "Today, the SCO has the same enemy: terrorism and extremism."
