(Essential questions) Nurgaliev: What "Oriental wisdom" is contained in the SCO after 20 years?
China News Service, Nur Sultan, September 17th, title: What "Oriental wisdom" is contained in the SCO after 20 years?
——Interview with Bolat Nurgaliev, former Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
China News Agency reporter Zhang Shuo
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (hereinafter referred to as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization). The 21st meeting of the Council of Heads of State of its member states was held in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, a Central Asian country from September 16 to 17.
Since its establishment in 2001, the SCO has become one of the world's largest trans-regional international organizations.
In the past 20 years, the organization's influence has surpassed the areas covered by its member states, and its weight and role in international affairs have increased significantly, and its role in civilized dialogue and cultural exchanges has also become more obvious.
Former Secretary-General of the SCO Bolat Nurgaliev recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency "Question of East and West". Combining his work experience and thinking, he explained in detail the differences between the SCO and similar organizations led by the West. Explain the "Eastern wisdom" contained in it, and give suggestions for the SCO to start again.
Data map: On September 3, 2021, the 20th Anniversary of SCO Humanities Education and Industry Exhibition will be held at the Beijing National Culture Palace.
Image source: Visual China
The summary of the interview record is as follows:
China News Service: The SCO has gone through 20 years. What do you think of this regional international organization that unites 18 countries and nearly half of the world's population?
Nurgaliev:
Although the SCO is a relatively young organization, it has made many tangible achievements and contributed its unique strength to regional and global security, stability and sustainable development.
Looking back at history, the goal of the SCO is to create an atmosphere of mutual trust among member states that share common borders, solve difficult problems, and jointly respond to challenges that threaten national and regional security and stability.
With the expansion of its scale, the influence of the SCO has surpassed the areas covered by its member states and has become an important part of the international system.
In the 1990s, the "Shanghai Five", as the embryonic form of the SCO, opened a new chapter in the practice of a new collective security model in the vast Asia-Pacific region. In 2001, the SCO came into being to jointly combat terrorism, separatism, and extremism. Born.
With the passage of time, the SCO’s cooperation areas have continued to expand, and cooperation in various fields such as politics, economy, society, and humanities has continued to advance.
It is worth noting that the Afghan issue has always occupied an important position in the security agenda of the SCO.
At present, the tension in Afghanistan is heating up, and the "Shanghai Cooperation Organization-Afghanistan Liaison Group" is actively carrying out various tasks to consolidate regional efforts for constructive contact with the parties to the conflict in Afghanistan and the peaceful settlement of the Afghan issue.
In general, the SCO has successfully completed the mission assigned at the beginning of its establishment, has continuously optimized its sustainable development, and flexibly responded to the international development process.
Data map: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Business Entrepreneurs Forum was held in Urumqi.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Xin
China News Agency reporter: What is the difference between the SCO and similar organizations led by the West? What kind of "Oriental wisdom" does the "Shanghai Spirit" it follows?
Nurgaliev: During
my tenure as the Secretary-General of the SCO, I studied the views of various parties on the SCO and received a wide range of opinions, especially those from the West.
Some people tend to think that the SCO is a political and military group directed at the West, but this is not the case.
The SCO is an international organization that is transparent and open and can carry out East-West cooperation.
The difference from similar international organizations lies in the highly open operating mechanism of the SCO, including the public release of all document information.
Although the member states have debates and disputes in the meeting, all parties actively participate in the discussion and can openly adopt decisions on the basis of consensus.
In addition, the difference from similar international organizations in the West lies in the SCO’s compliance with the "Shanghai Spirit."
With an attitude of equal consultation, all member states respect the cultural forms of countries with different ethnicities and different religious beliefs, and jointly promote human development and progress.
This not only conforms to the common interests of all member states, but also embodies the advanced forms of civilized exchanges.
It is this spirit that constitutes the equality of the SCO dialogue platform.
The SCO respects the interests and opinions of each participating country. Countries on the platform, big or small, rich or poor, have an equal right to speak.
There are few such precedents in international practice, especially when considering the composition of the SCO countries.
Data map: The 2019 SCO Local Leaders' Meeting was held in Chongqing.
The picture shows the guests taking pictures outside the venue.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Chao
China News Agency reporter: The area covered by the member states of the SCO is also the birthplace of many civilizations. Different civilizations have dialogues and exchanges here. In your opinion, what is the reason for mutual learning and communication among different member states?
Nurgalyev: The
SCO region has profound cultural traditions and is the birthplace of important civilizations, religions and cultures in the world.
The member states of the SCO share a common geographical boundary and historical connection with each other, and the collision and exchange of various civilizations in the region have formed a historical tradition of mutual respect, openness and tolerance.
People of all countries are united by a proverb, that is, "far relatives are not as good as neighbors."
I think this is the "secret" that attracts each other.
The civilized backgrounds of the member states are indeed very different, but they all have the desire to work towards friendly relations-to build their homes together and be responsible for the coordinated development of the region.
This goal has been skillfully translated into the SCO’s charter, political policies, organizational plans and cooperative projects.
The differences between the member states of the SCO are not only not a problem, but also a source of vitality.
The humanities mutual learning in the SCO is a good example. It has become another driving force for the continuous development of the SCO in addition to security and economic cooperation.
Reporter from China News Service: The development of the SCO and the construction of the “Belt and Road” are clearly intertwined, and their complementarity and mutual assistance are becoming increasingly prominent. In your opinion, what role are the countries in Central Asia playing in the “Belt and Road” initiative?
Nurgaliev:
The construction of the “Belt and Road” has made many impossible possibilities. Thanks to the relatively stable political environment in the region, various countries have strengthened their economic and trade ties.
In fact, the SCO has created favorable conditions for China's cooperation concept, among which the promotion of the "Belt and Road" initiative has benefited to a large extent.
Most of the SCO member states, observer states, and dialogue partners are countries along the “Belt and Road”.
The activation of the ancient Silk Road and part of the Eurasian Continental Channel has always existed in the long-term development plans of various countries.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping put forward the "Belt and Road" initiative in Kazakhstan in 2013.
Over the past eight years, the participation of 140 countries and more than 30 international organizations has verified the great potential of the “Belt and Road” initiative.
Over the past eight years, China’s investment in countries along the “Belt and Road” has exceeded 100 billion U.S. dollars, and Central Asia has become the “central area” of the results of the “Belt and Road” cooperation.
Kazakhstan is located in the middle zone of Eurasia and is an important crossroads of Eurasia.
As the place where the “Belt and Road” initiative was first initiated, Kazakhstan was one of the first countries to carry out “Belt and Road” cooperation with China, and it is also an important cooperative partner of China in Central Asia.
At the same time, the "Bright Road" plan proposed by Kazakhstan is well connected with the "Belt and Road" initiative.
In the future, Kazakhstan will continue to improve its infrastructure construction and unleash the potential of Kazakhstan's transit transportation.
China News Agency reporter: In today's world, major changes unseen in a century are intertwined with the epidemic of the century, which promotes profound changes and adjustments in the world structure and order. In this context, what role will the SCO, which has been around for 20 years, play in the future?
Nurgaliev: At
present, the new crown pneumonia epidemic has become a turning point in the development of the international community. Countries are experiencing major tests of multilateral and unilateral, open and closed, cooperation and confrontation.
On the one hand, the SCO has a sound institutional foundation and close cooperation among its member states has created necessary conditions for the security and sustainable development of the region.
On the other hand, the SCO’s international influence continues to increase, and its accumulated successful experience is being widely used for reference by other international and regional international organizations.
In addition, the SCO has been actively integrated into the international system since its establishment, and the topics of concern have become wider and wider, and its attraction to countries in the Eurasian region has gradually increased.
The "changing reality" is precisely a test for the SCO itself.
Over the past 20 years, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has explored a path to successful cooperation in practice.
As international politics continues to evolve, the SCO also needs to optimize cooperation concepts and mechanisms while consolidating development results. This is normal for any growing international organization.
Only by adjusting internally while adapting to changes in the outside world can it become a stable force in an unstable world.
(over)
About the interviewee:
China News Service sent the interviewee's picture
Borat Nurgaliev, a senior diplomat of Kazakhstan.
Former Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan.
From 1996 to 2006, he served as the ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United States, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Japan and other countries.
From 2007 to 2009, he served as Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
He is currently the director of the Foreign Policy Research Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan. His main research direction is to study and judge global political and economic and national and regional security trends, and interact with think tanks engaged in foreign policy research around the world to provide suggestions and measures.