EDITORIAL: Full marks to the Pakistani government for braving security threats and political turmoil and holding a seamless 23rd Council of Heads of Governments meeting of SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) member states.
The expanding Eurasian alliance was meeting amid a rapidly changing and increasingly tumultuous international environment, which naturally enhanced the importance of the summit.
And holding it so successfully brought the twin benefits of voicing the region’s concerns forcefully and re-establishing Pakistan as a solid partner and, indeed, a serious global player.
The joint communique released at the end covered the usual range of subjects, from climate to commerce and almost everything in between, but perhaps the most important point was a unified stand against the strengthening trends of unilateral sanctions, protectionism, and trade curbs.
Member states pointed out how the West’s, particularly America’s, penchant for sanctioning countries that do not toe its line is not compatible with established international law.
Russia and Iran, both SCO members, have suffered the worst from such kneejerk policies enacted by the US and its allies. And now a clear message has been sent that will make Washington and the capitals across mainland Europe give SCO’s considerations – a constantly growing bloc – more serious attention than they are used to.
The summit also made it clear that one of its main missions was to enhance deep economic/commercial integration between member states.
As such, it is only natural for it to take very serious positions against the kinds of protectionism and trade curbs that have been rather frequently enforced by western countries, particularly America.
China bore the brunt of tariff and currency wars with the US just a few years ago, a reactionary policy out of the Trump White House that rattled supply chains and slowed the global economy, so now it’s been made pretty clear that the Eurasian alliance will resist such regressive tendencies in future.
Even more importantly, the group reiterated its commitment to trade in local currencies and set up an SCO Development Bank. It seems that one of the standout ideas of the last summit, of creating a new common currency to counter what is increasingly referred to as “weaponisation of the dollar” by the US, has been wisely put on the backburner in favour of first trading in member states’ own currencies. This policy is more doable and should pave the way for a common currency down the road.
And it will be a landmark step in diluting the often unfair hegemony of the dollar in international trade. China, Russia, Iran and India have already set the precedent of using their own currencies for mutual settlement, even in oil and gas trade, which is truly unprecedented and provides other states with a ready blueprint for implementation.
It needs to be acknowledged that continued expansion and relevance of outfits like SCO are leading indicators of a changing world order.
In fact, one reason the established order, headed by the US, has employed aggressive tactics like sanctions and trade tariffs is to check the “rise of the rest”, as it is called, and SCO is one forum where a number of the “rest” are bunched together and working for mutual benefits.
For its part, Pakistan must be congratulated for hosting this important summit and reclaiming its position on the international stage. Even the Indian foreign minister felt forced to hold back his usual criticism and thank his hosts before his departure.
The time when SCO’s detractors could dismiss it as bloc politics is long gone. It is, rather, a rare show of unity in an increasingly divided world. There are also examples of common economic/commercial policy, like the EU and ASEAN, that provide valuable lessons. SCO states must learn from them and continue to march forward.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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