In the short term, the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will become a key center for global development, whose economic scale will reach 40% of the world GDP by 2030. This was announced on Thursday by the organization’s Secretary General Vladimir Norov, TASS reports. 

“The SCO has great opportunities to become one of the world economic centers in the near future. By 2030, the aggregate GDP of the organization’s member countries is expected to reach 35-40% of the global GDP,” he stressed, speaking at the 11th China Overseas Investment Fair in Beijing. “The annual foreign trade turnover of the member states has already exceeded $6.3 trillion”. 

The organization’s head recalled that the SCO advocates the formation of an open economy and against the protectionist measures of individual states. He added that the Chinese initiative “One belt - one road” is in line with the organization’s spirit and it intends to take an active part in relevant international projects.

Norov also said that the SCO is playing an increasingly active role in global investment, reducing the negative impact of the one-sided sanctions of individual states on the growth of the global economy.

“Tighter conditions in the global financial market, a high level of public debt, and tensions in trade policies between the largest economies in the world, as a result of the growth of unilateral protectionist measures, reinforce the existing challenges in world markets,” he said.

“In these conditions, the SCO makes a significant contribution to the development of international trade, measures are being taken to further expand trade-economic cooperation, including by creating a favorable investment and business climate, supporting business initiatives and organizing mutually beneficial projects,” Norov added. 

According to him, the process of globalization provides ample opportunities for the growth of developing countries. At the same time, the Secretary General recalled that the world economy is in a slowdown stage: its growth rate dropped to 3.6% in 2018, and, according to the IMF, there will be a further decline (around 3%) in 2019. 

He emphasized that despite the difficult trend, the SCO provides great opportunities for business development.