Piyush Goyal calls upon SCO countries to enhance trade, investment
Oct 28, 2020
New Delhi [India], October 28 : Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday urged SCO countries to leverage their economic strength and explore partnerships that enhance trade and investment in the region.
He said that cooperation should be continued to enhance intra-SCO trade and investment which would be critical in ensuring the speedy recovery from the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The minister was speaking at the 19th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Ministers responsible for Foreign Economy and Foreign Trade Activities. India hosted the meeting on Tuesday.
According to an official release, the minister said that every nation's world view is shaped by its civilization and philosophical tradition and India's ancient wisdom sees the world as one family - "Vasudeva Kutumbakam".
Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Hardeep Singh Puri also spoke on the occasion.
The virtual meeting was attended by the Secretary-General of SCO and Ministers from Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The meeting adopted four documents including a statement on response to COVID-19 which reinforces the need for greater cooperation for access to medicines and facilitation of trade.
It adopted a statement on the multilateral trading system of ministers of SCO countries who are WTO Members. This statement highlights the importance of the rules-based multilateral negotiations.
The meeting also adopted a statement on SCO Cooperation on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and an action plan for implementation of MOU to stimulate cooperation within the framework of SCO in the field of MSMEs.
Goyal said all these outcomes very important milestones for SCO solidarity.
