'Shanghai Spirit' draws new members to join SCO

BROADER COOPERATION PROSPECT

Besides reviewing the memorandum of obligations for India and Pakistan to join the SCO at the Tashkent summit, the bloc might also add a few countries to the observation list, which, said Wang, is a step forward to elevate regional economic prosperity.

To promote common prosperity, SCO member countries have been aligning themselves with China's Belt and Road Initiative, which Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed in 2013 in a bid to boost connectivity and cooperation.

Some programs have already yielded results and some are still ongoing.

The Western Europe-Western China International Transit Corridor and the Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Oman transport corridor are under construction in order to rebuild the Silk Road and expand international transport, which would benefit some 3 billion people in countries along the ancient Silk Road.

When the China-Kyrgyzstan railway project is completed and put into operation, Kyrgyzstan will be able to connect its railway lines with those of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and even Europe, increasing regional interconnectivity.

Besides, SCO member states have also made headway in energy, transportation and telecommunication cooperation.

Now they plan to further tap the potential of economic cooperation within the SCO via implementing more strategic and pragmatic projects at the multilateral level.

In order to fund larger projects, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, speaking at the SCO Prime Ministers' Meeting in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou last December, called for a steady expansion of the SCO Interbank Consortium.

He also added that China would promote the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the New Development Bank for BRICS to support SCO members' projects.

These measures are intended to fulfil China's pledge to build a community of common destiny in the region, a pledge fueled by the "Shanghai Spirit."