ASTANA, Kazakhstan, July 4. The routes across Azerbaijan are crucial for enhancing the transportation capacity of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) region, said Olzhas Beisembayev, an expert of Kazakhstan's Institute of Social Development, on the sidelines of the meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State in Astana, Trend reports.
"This summit marks the 24th meeting of heads of state. For the first time, the summit includes an 'SCO plus' meeting, where President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev participates as an honorary guest alongside delegates from Arab and Turkic countries," he stated.
The expert highlighted that during the closed-door session of heads of state, several areas for advancing SCO cooperation were outlined.
"Firstly, confidence-building in the security sphere; secondly, expanding trade and economic relations; and thirdly, enhancing transportation and logistics networks and interconnection corridors. China's One Belt, One Road initiative is pivotal in this regard, alongside the Trans-Caspian route through Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan," highlighted the expert.
Additionally, the expert reminded that development continues on the North-South routes.
"Both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, situated at the crossroads of these transport corridors, are keen on expanding transport links and bolstering transit potential.
With the growing interest from Turkic and Arab countries in these proceedings, I foresee the SCO potentially expanding to include more Turkic and Arab nations in the future. Belarus is already progressing towards full membership, transforming the Shanghai Five into the Shanghai Ten.
This evolution positions the SCO not just as a regional, but also as a trans-regional organization," he further added.
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