SCO offers favourable platform for Armenia to develop political and economic ties with other countries – China expert

Mher Sahakyan, President of the China-Eurasia Council for Political and Strategic Research, believes that the latest summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) took place amid geopolitical tensions, prompting participants to use the platform to discuss urgent issues and put forward constructive proposals on a range of matters.

Speaking to Armenpress, China expert Mher Sahakyan discussed the work of the latest SCO summit held in Kyrgyzstan, addressing the geopolitical and geo-economic environment in which it took place and the prospects it could open up for member states and countries seeking membership.

“Relations between the United States and China, as well as between the United States and Iran, are currently tense, while hostilities continue on the Russian-Ukrainian front. Therefore, the states participating in the SCO summit are trying to find solutions concerning the regions in which they are located, especially since the SCO is no longer concerned only with Central Asia and now has a broader scope. This also concerns the Middle East and Eastern Europe. There are also dialogue partners from Africa, among which Egypt carries considerable weight. All of this indicates that the organisation’s standing has increased significantly in recent times,” Sahakyan said.

According to him, the SCO framework provides opportunities to find solutions to both security and economic issues, as well as to reach political agreements on matters of vital importance. Sahakyan highlighted the importance of the Armenian delegation, headed by the Prime Minister, taking part in the latest summit.

“Our presence is very important in view of Armenia’s goal of becoming a full member of the SCO. The organisation is a good platform for Armenia to develop economic and political relations with China, India and other countries. It is also a favourable platform for bilateral negotiations with Azerbaijan, which is very important in terms of maintaining peace. There are also countries with which we have disagreements. Russia, for example, is one of them. Therefore, the SCO is regarded as a platform for meetings between Armenian and Russian partners, during which the sides can discuss various issues in detail and seek ways to resolve existing disagreements,” Sahakyan said.

Sahakyan added that the SCO’s leading countries are China, India and Russia, which have interests in a number of regions, including the South Caucasus, and therefore put forward ideas for implementing major logistics projects.

“China is advancing the Belt and Road Initiative, in which the Central Asian, Western Asian and South Caucasus routes are considered important. The opening of the Armenia-Azerbaijan and Armenia-Türkiye borders, and the integration of transport hubs, would allow major powers to play a more active role in our region. Armenia, for its part, will not remain outside the freight transportation carried out within the framework of the organisation. Russia and India are more interested in the International North-South Transport Corridor and will therefore seek to intensify their efforts in that direction,” Sahakyan said.

In his view, this also provides a good opportunity to integrate Armenia’s “Crossroads of Peace” initiative with major logistics projects.

“We should try to find new ways to integrate Armenian infrastructure and once again negotiate with the Russian side, which oversees the concession management of Armenia’s railways, so that Armenian railways can also become an important part of the SCO’s overall freight transportation network and international transport corridors,” Sahakyan concluded.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, during a two-day working visit to the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, took part in the SCO+ format meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit and in events organised on its sidelines. During the visit, Pashinyan also held bilateral meetings with foreign partners.