ASTANA – The joint meeting of the Interbank Association and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Business Council will be held on the eve of EXPO 2017 in Astana. This was announced April 12 at the meeting at the SCO Secretariat in Beijing between SCO Business Council and Kazakhstan Entrepreneurs’ Forum Chairman Raimbek Batalov and SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov, according to the organisation’s press release.
(L) Raimbek Batalov and Rashid Alimov. Photo credit: sectsco.org
“I believe the joining of efforts of the Interbank Association, the Business Council and the SCO Secretariat will produce an essential result along with the activities of our governments. Most importantly, these results will influence positively our businesses. We have already identified issues related to the activation of exports, the financing of infrastructure projects and other topics. I believe the upcoming meeting in Astana will give a new impetus to the development of economic projects in the SCO countries,” Batalov said.
The parties also exchanged views on the activities of the SCO Business Council as one of the active public platforms of the organisation. The council contributed to the expansion of economic cooperation, the implementation of multilateral projects and the establishment of closer ties between the business communities of SCO member states.
The SCO Secretary-General said the business community should realise the tasks set to promote economic cooperation to a higher level in the context of the upcoming summit in Astana and the expansion of the organisation to also include India and Pakistan.
The interaction with the SCO Business Council on a wide range of issues and the activities of the SCO Secretariat is important, said Batalov. He said he hopes to increase cooperation during his chairmanship of the SCO Business Council.
“We discussed social projects. The SCO marathon with the participation of about 1,000 people will be held August 27 in Astana. Such events are important and useful for us. The issues concerning small and medium-sized businesses related to removing barriers to trade were also on the agenda. The Kazakh government has been working to ensure that local companies have opportunities to sell products on the Chinese market,” said Batalov.
The SCO Business Council was established June 14, 2006 in Shanghai. It is a non-governmental structure that brings together prominent representatives of business communities to promote economic cooperation within the organisation, forge direct relationships and facilitate implementation of multilateral projects of SCO member states.
The National Business Council chairs at the SCO Business Council Board Jan. 1 – Dec. 31.
The Forum of Entrepreneurs, one of the largest and most active public associations in the country, works to develop private finance initiatives and entrepreneurship.
