OREANDA-NEWS. The SCO Business Council Board has met in Bishkek to discuss pressing issues of cooperation between member countries.

National chairmen of the SCO Business Council representing Russia, Kazakhstan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan delivered their speeches. The Russian-Chinese project of a personal mobile satellite communication system was presented.

CCI of Russia President, Chairman of the SCO Business Council Russian part Sergey Katyrin emphasized the need for a practical focus of the SCO Business Council activity with due account of the importance of the tasks of broadening economic cooperation and the promotion of multilateral investment projects on the territories of member countries.

The Business Council has proven its value as an instrument bolstering business cooperation on the SCO economic space, especially in such sectors as transport, information technologies, energy, infrastructure, geological survey, environmental protection, finance and banking.

Bilateral and multilateral events of regional businessmen are regularly held under the patronage and with the participation of the Russian part of the Business Council dedicated to trade, economic and investment relations between SCO countries. This work also involves CCI of Russia organizations (including 174 territorial chambers of commerce). Active business contacts with the national parts of the SCO Business Council are being maintained.

At the same time, Sergey Katyrin believes that further efficient operations of the Business Council would be impossible without a number of organizational reforms.

The SCO Business Council should focus on support to multifaceted practical cooperation projects in the fields of energy, transport, agro-industry, communications and telecommunications that meet the interests of the majority of SCO member countries.

The activity needs precise regulation: SCO Business Council structures (the Executive Secretariat, the SCO Business Club and working groups) should operate within a definite “system of coordinates” and the very possibility of duplication of their functions should be ruled out. Initiatives regarding the establishment of working groups and addition of promising projects to the list of projects fostered under the aegis of the SCO Business Council should be coordinated by chairmen of national parts of the SCO Business Council.

Special attention should be given to the promotion of multilateral projects. The Business Council should concentrate on the following areas: the promotion of current or prospective multilateral (bilateral) projects of SCO member countries, the search for and support of multilateral investment projects; the use of international forums and exhibitions held under the patronage and with the participation of the SCO Business Council as floors for strengthening and development of cooperation between member countries.

As it has been repeatedly mentioned before, there is a need to upgrade information contacts between SCO Business Council members, especially in individual promising projects. It would be expedient to link existent electronic resources of every national part to the business information exchange network, Sergei Katyrin stressed, suggesting setting up a unified databank of pending SCO trade and economic undertakings.

It would also be expedient to consider the possibility of the establishment and release of printed editions covering activities of the SCO Business Council in the context of information cooperation.

Speaking about the innovative part of cooperation, Sergey Katyrin noted the importance of comprehensive support to innovations. It is necessary to develop infrastructure of cooperation between research institutes and organizations and private businesses, for instance, through the formation of innovative clusters and technological platforms, appraise possibilities of the establishment of joint venture funds that would diversify risks in innovative projects, support and promote innovations targeting key technologies, which allow for continuous modernization, and consider the possibility to form multilateral techno-parks, business incubators, collective use centers and other elements of innovative infrastructure.

In addition, it is necessary to draft recommendations for governments of SCO member countries regarding measures towards the development of infrastructure of the innovative sector and assistance in cooperation between educational establishments of all levels for training highly skilled specialists, exchanging students and teaching staffs and modernizing occupational training systems.

In the opinion of the Russian part of the Business Council, these measures are bound to contribute to the achievement of tasks set for the SCO Business Council, Sergey Katyrin stressed.

Bishkek also hosted a business forum of the SCO Business Council, “Cooperation Prospects on the SCO Space. Opening of New Markets”, which arose a large interest of business communities.

The forum's plenary meeting highlighted such issues as investment options of Kyrgyzstan, trade and economic cooperation between SCO member countries, innovations as a factor for raising economic competitiveness, prospects for SCO cooperation in the area of resources and the role of commercial banks in infrastructural projects.

A project, “Center for Heritage of Peoples of SCO Member Countries”, was presented.

Four panel meetings - “Energy Projects and Energy Security”, “Agro-Industrial Projects as Foundation of Food Security of SCO Member States”, “Financial Support to Projects on SCO Space” and “Electronic State and Corporate Procurements on Global Market. Formation of Single Business Space with IT Technologies” - were highly successful.