DUSHANBE, September 17. /TASS/. Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov suggested that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member-states shift to settlements in the national currency.
"We welcome the initiative on the creation of SCO financial mechanisms, particularly the Bank of development and the Fund of development, for the implementation of economic projects in the organization. It is suggested that consultations continue on that matter and the possibility of using those institutes as a mechanism of shifting to settlements in the national currency be considered," he said at the SCO summit in Dushanbe on Friday.
The further deepening of economic cooperation "should be prior for the SCO," Zhaparov noted. "However, we have not yet made progress in resolving such an important issue as the trade and economic component of our organization over a long period," he said.
The coronavirus pandemic "has weakened macroeconomic prospects of many countries" and led to "the slowdown of rates of economic growth and mutual trade" between SCO nations, the president believes. "We should focus common efforts to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus infection and overcome the consequences of the pandemic-related crisis," he said.