(ECNS) - The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has provided a favorable environment for the rapid growth of Belarus since the country was granted observer status in 2015, said experts.
SCO has played an important role in maintaining regional stability and security, and offered Belarus a new platform for international exchange, according to Arseny Sivitsky, director of the Center for Strategic and Foreign Policy Studies in Belarus.
Belarus has established flexible and multiple cooperation arrangements with SCO member states against terrorism, separatism and extremism as well as transnational crimes and drug trafficking, he said.
Sivitsky added that the upcoming SCO Summit in Qingdao City would celebrate the "Shanghai spirit" -- values underpinning the establishment of the SCO 17 years ago -- which promotes a world order leaning towards equality and mutual benefit, especially during a time when the world is faced with a rise in trade protectionism.
Belarus has developed cooperation arrangements with Russia and China of strategic importance and benefited from the opportunities of China's Belt and Road initiative and Russia's "Eurasian Union."
Vladimir Ulakhovich, chairman of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the China-Belarus industrial park has attracted more than 30 large companies from China, Russia, the United States and Germany, and provides momentum for the SCO's growth.
Ulakhovich also said he hopes SCO member countries could reach a new agreement over regional financing in order to drive transnational growth.
