Col (r) Ikram Ullah Khan
With the successful conduct of the 23rd Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Islamabad, Pakistan has managed to be in the spotlight once again that is likely to catapult it to a place which it richly deserves. At a time when the Iran-Israel conflict has set the alarm bell of not only a regional war ringing in the Middle East but the danger of a Third world War also seems to be looming large on the horizon, hosting the 23th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit by Pakistan assumes a special significance.
On 15-16 October 2024 Pakistan had the honour of hosting the summit in Islamabad. The summit was attended by 8 heads of government and two ministers, i.e. Iran’s trade minister and Indian foreign minister. The importance of this summit can be gauged from the fact that SCO represents 10 countries with around 42 % population of the world.
Hosting the summit marks a significant milestone in Pakistan’s successful foreign policy that has paved the way for improved international relations thereby dispelling the claims by some detractors suggesting that Pakistan had become isolated on the global stage. Hosting an international event of this magnitude is no mean feat and is undoubtedly, a welcome development in the diplomatic journey of Pakistan, particularly amid an air of despondency when the prophets of doom have been making prognosis of a bleak future for Pakistan.
After 27 years, Pakistan has once again demonstrated its capability to host an international event. The summit has afforded a golden opportunity for Pakistan to showcase its soft and positive image and potentialities before the world. It’s quite heartening to witness the participants of the summit carrying a favorable image of Pakistan while leaving Islamabad.
During the summit meeting, a range of challenging issues such as economic collaboration, investment in regional infrastructure which is imperative for promoting economic integration, energy cooperation, regional security, terrorism, climate change and its catastrophic effects, regional connectivity, importance of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its subsidiary flagship project China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), importance of digital economy, possibility of trade in local currency, poverty alleviation, cultural exchanges and a host of other key issues were discussed with unanimity of views. PM Shahbaz Sharif rightly highlighted the significance of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which has always been taken with the pinch of salt by the US, its Western allies and its strategic ally India for obvious reasons. These projects are focusing on regional connectivity by developing road, rail and digital infrastructure.
While emphasizing the significance of BRI and CPEC, PM Shahbaz Sharif said, “Let us not look at such projects through the narrow political prism, and invest in our collective connectivity capacity which is crucial in advancing the shared vision of an economically integrated region”.
The participants expressed their resolve to pull out all the stops to overcome the challenges, grab the opportunities to realizing their targeted goals and jointly move full steam ahead to achieve the targets set for the future. The summit ended with a guarded optimism to counter the difficulties facing the organization. The participants also expressed their anguish over Israeli attack and indiscriminate bombardment over Gaza and Lebanon.
Having said all that, it may be pertinent to mention here that contrary to expectations, the SCO hasn’t been able to achieve any major milestones during its 23- year long journey with every summit meeting concluding on a happy note but without producing tangible result. These summits have so far proved to be a mere deliberation on issues and challenges facing the alliance as every summit so far held has ended with rosy promises and solemn commitments that couldn’t be translated into action.
Lastly, against all odds, the organization has a vibrant potential to achieve its goals given the presence of China and Russia as its potent members. It may not be hyperbolic to say that the presence of China and Russia does give the organizations an aura of respectability and credibility.
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