Trade connectivity among the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) countries with transit rights should not be a problem unless “protectionism comes in the way” and the issue could be discussed at the next summit of the eight-member grouping in India, Deputy Secretary General of the bloc Sohail Khan has said.
“Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has emphasised and underscored the importance of transit rights and permissions for the future intra-SCO trade” at the last week’s summit of the SCO held at Samarkand in Uzbekistan last week, Khan said at a media briefing held by the Chinese Foreign Ministry here on Tuesday.
In his address at the Samarkand summit on September 16, Prime Minister Modi said: "India supports greater cooperation and mutual trust among SCO members. The pandemic and the crisis in Ukraine have caused many disruptions in global supply chains, leaving the world facing unprecedented energy and food crises."
"The SCO should strive to develop reliable, resilient and diversified supply chains in our region. For this, better connectivity will be required, as well as it will also be important that we all give full rights of transit to each other," Modi said.
India is due to host the next summit of the SCO in 2023.
Khan said the SCO countries have signed several documents which are intertwined with each other such as intra-regional trade as well as transport corridors and infrastructure development.
“The question is the transit license. It will come once we have the transit corridors…some of the transit corridors are not fully functional, especially in the South Asian part connecting it with Central Asia via Afghanistan and Iran," Khan, a Pakistani diplomat on deputation to the SCO, said while responding to a question.
“That has to be completed first. We should have a normal highway system for the transportation of goods and services," he said, apparently referring to Pakistan’s reluctance to open up the transit route for India to connect with Afghanistan and Central Asia.
Pakistan has closed the Attari-Wagah border point to prevent direct transit trade connectivity for India through its country with Afghanistan and Central Asia, prompting New Delhi to work out an alternative trade route through Chabahar port in Iran.
Islamabad apprehends that a direct trade transit route from India will enable India to improve its trade and energy connectivity with Afghanistan and Central Asia besides Iran.
“Once the trade starts, it is automatically resolved because there are other documents which have been adopted where there is a clause for simplification of customs, immigration and other things," Khan said.
“I think there should be no problem unless protectionism comes in the way”, he said.
“But in terms of the SCO framework the countries will try their best to overcome the issue of protectionism," he said.
“So hopefully next year when the next summit is held in India there should be some new documents between the SCO members indicating further simplification facilitating transit trade and corridors for the countries that require transit tracks or provisions," Khan said.
The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Over the years, it has emerged as one of the largest trans-regional international organisations. India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017.
Iran is due to join the grouping at the next summit as SCO's ninth member.
