Prime ministers from Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states have agreed to take infrastructure construction a priority project for cooperation, China Daily reported.
The decision was outlined in a statement on regional economic cooperation released on Tuesday, Dec. 15, following the 14th SCO Prime Ministers' Meeting in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province.
According to the report, the leaders from the six member states--China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan--agree that transportation infrastructure, shipping facilities, trade, the investment environment, production capacity, high-technology and financial cooperation are among issues that need to be solved as they noted the "sluggish recovery of the world economy."
The leaders said the countries should undertake joint infrastructure programs, which include building high-speed railways, to improve ties and make full use of cross-border shipping potential.
The statement said that industrial parks or economic cooperation zones can be set up by SCO member states "when conditions are ripe," adding that exchanges among enterprises should be strengthened to tap into leading technologies and create more jobs.
Premier Li Keqiang, who presided over the meeting, said that the security cooperation mechanism for the SCO must be strengthened, adding that they must also increase border defense cooperation and move toward an anti-extremism pact. He said this would provide a safe environment for regional development.
At the 13th SCO prime ministers' meeting in the Kazakh capital Astana in December last year, Li first reportedly proposed cooperation on industrial capacity, which was welcomed by Kazakhstan.
According to Gao Fei, a professor of international relations at China Foreign Affairs University, the meeting would help to integrate China's Belt and Road Initiative with the SCO program and help the economic transformation of Central Asian countries.
Premier Li said at a news conference after the meeting that the SCO should "gather dynamics" and form six platforms to upgrade cooperation.
Li added that the country is ready to boost the link between the Silk Road Economic Belt and the development strategies of other SCO members as well as the Eurasian Economic Union.
The Belt and Road Initiative, which refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, was proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013. It calls for the setting up of the trans-Eurasia routes to boost connectivity and trade, which have been welcomed by many countries, including the SCO members.
Chen Xiaochen, a research fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, said that the Belt and Road Initiative will enable the SCO to develop rapidly along the ancient Silk Road.