PM Shehbaz addresses CCO Plus, calls for cooperation over confrontation to advance SCO development agenda

BISHKEK: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday called for collective efforts to advance the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) development agenda through trans-regional connectivity, energy cooperation, IT and artificial intelligence, poverty reduction, health and sports, stressing the need to choose cooperation over confrontation for regional peace and prosperity.

Addressing the 26th Meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State in Bishkek, the prime minister said the SCO region possessed extraordinary potential and urged member states to turn the organisation’s vision into concrete action and progress.

He said Pakistan would pursue its upcoming SCO chairmanship under an action plan focusing on key priority areas, including connectivity, energy, technology, poverty alleviation, health and sports.

Prime Minister Shehbaz proposed establishing an SCO Sovereign AI Infrastructure and Governance Framework to promote responsible and inclusive development of artificial intelligence, strengthen digital sovereignty and ensure that no member state was left behind.

He also announced that Pakistan would host the Global Resilience Expo 2026-2027 in Islamabad to strengthen regional cooperation in disaster management, early warning systems and emergency response.

Thanking Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov for hosting the summit and for Kyrgyzstan’s successful SCO chairmanship, the prime minister said Pakistan took pride in being part of the organisation as it completed 25 years since its founding.

He said Pakistan’s sustained diplomatic efforts as an honest and sincere mediator and facilitator had culminated in the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, which he described as the most viable and enduring pathway towards lasting peace in the region.

Referring to the recently signed trilateral Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, Prime Minister Shehbaz described it as an expression of a shared commitment to sovereignty, territorial integrity, collective security and regional peace. He clarified that the agreement was fundamentally defensive in nature and was not directed against any state.

The prime minister said the global environment was being shaped by intensifying geopolitical tensions, a fragmenting global economy, escalating climate crises and unprecedented technological change. Against this backdrop, he said the SCO represented the collective resolve of its members to address emerging challenges together.

Reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to the UN and SCO charters, he said Pakistan had consistently advocated peace when the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an SCO member state was violated earlier this year, triggering a major regional crisis. The disruption of energy supply routes during the crisis, he added, imposed a heavy economic cost on Pakistan and the wider international community.

Turning to the Middle East, Prime Minister Shehbaz expressed concern over the continuing suffering of the people of Gaza and the West Bank and called on the international community to help the Palestinian people and other oppressed nations secure their right to self-determination.

On regional water resources, he stressed that water was the lifeblood of the region and must never be weaponised or used as an instrument of coercion or political leverage. Treaties governing shared water resources, he said, were binding international commitments that must be honoured unconditionally.

Highlighting Pakistan’s sacrifices in the fight against terrorism, the prime minister said the country had lost more than 90,000 lives and suffered economic losses exceeding $150 billion over the past two and a half decades.

As chair of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO RATS), he said Pakistan had actively worked to strengthen regional counter-terrorism cooperation. He reiterated that lasting regional peace would remain elusive as long as terrorist elements continued to use Afghan soil to carry out attacks against Pakistan and other neighbouring countries.

On regional connectivity, Prime Minister Shehbaz said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) continued to serve as a gateway connecting regional economies with the Arabian Sea. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to trans-regional railway projects, road connectivity initiatives and regional energy schemes.

He called for full implementation of the SCO Development Strategy until 2035, describing the establishment of an SCO Development Bank as a critical step towards achieving the organisation’s development objectives.

The prime minister also said Pakistan, as permanent chair of the SCO Special Working Group on Poverty Reduction, would continue efforts to strengthen social protection and promote inclusive development across the region.

Concluding his address, Prime Minister Shehbaz said the combined strength and aspirations of SCO nations held limitless potential, likening their collective strength to many streams joining together to form a mighty river.

He expressed hope that history would record the SCO as an organisation that chose cooperation over confrontation, dialogue over division, bridges over barriers and hope over fear, rather than merely witnessing a changing world.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif also signed the joint declaration of the SCO Council of Heads of State Summit.

The summit was attended by heads of state and government of SCO member countries along with SCO Secretary General Nurlan Yermekbayev.