Politics
SCO Driving Regional Prosperity Through Cooperation
When the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was established in 2001, its primary mission was to enhance regional security and stability. Over the years, however, its scope has expanded significantly to encompass economic cooperation reflecting the reality that sustainable prosperity and enduring stability are inseparable.
Today, the SCO is the world’s largest regional organization in terms of geography and population. With a vast market, abundant resources, and immense growth potential, the bloc has become an important driver of regional and global development. One of its central objectives now is to facilitate trade and investment among member states. To this end, mechanisms such as the SCO Business Council and the Interbank Consortium have been set up to boost cross border commerce and financial cooperation.
The results are tangible. In 2024, trade volume between China and other SCO member states, observer states, and dialogue partners hit a record $890 billion, accounting for 14.4 percent of China’s total exports and imports. This surge underscores both the vitality and the prospects of intra regional trade.
SCO cooperation has also paved the way for greater infrastructure connectivity across Eurasia. Landmark projects like the China Central Asia West Asia Economic Corridor and the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway have significantly reduced trade barriers and shortened transport times. Energy security remains another pillar of cooperation. The China Central Asia Gas Pipeline and the Eastern Russia China Natural Gas Pipeline not only safeguard the region’s energy needs but also contribute to stabilizing global energy markets. Recently, SCO member states signed an MoU to jointly construct “Silk Road Stations” aimed at addressing critical infrastructure gaps along expanding trade routes.
Beyond physical connectivity, the SCO has played a pivotal role in aligning development strategies. China’s Belt and Road Initiative complements national strategies such as Kazakhstan’s Bright Road Initiative, Kyrgyzstan’s National Development Program, and Tajikistan’s National Development Strategy. This synergy highlights the SCO’s strength in fostering shared development models.
Sustainable development has become a new priority for the SCO, with green growth and digital transformation at its core. According to a report released at the SCO Energy Ministers’ Meeting in June, the bloc’s total renewable energy installed capacity reached 2.31 billion kW by the end of 2024 nearly half of the global total. The SCO Green Development Forum provides a dedicated platform for advancing these goals under the organization’s Green Development Agenda.
The digital sphere is another frontier. The SCO Digital Economy Forum and the Digital Silk Road initiative have accelerated Eurasia’s digital integration. In 2024, cross-border e-commerce between China and other SCO states surged 34 percent year-on-year. Moreover, the Action Plan for Digital Transformation of SCO Member States, adopted in June, is set to deepen collaboration in e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and smart infrastructure.
Despite remarkable achievements, the SCO faces hurdles in deepening integration. Externally, it remains under scrutiny and sustained pressure from the West, which often seeks to divide rather than unite. Internally, differences in development stages, economic models, cultural traditions, and lingering geopolitical disputes sometimes slow down cooperation. To address these challenges, the SCO must continue strengthening institutional mechanisms in five priority areas: policy, infrastructure, trade, finance, and people-to-people ties. By doing so, member states can align their competitive advantages, foster mutual trust, and create a more resilient framework for cooperation.
The upcoming SCO Summit in Tianjin, hosted by China as the organization’s rotating president, is expected to further unlock the group’s vast potential. At a time when protectionist tariffs, unilateral sanctions, and technological barriers threaten global growth, the SCO offers a counter-narrative championing openness, inclusivity, and shared prosperity.
As one of the pioneering regional organizations of the Global South, the SCO provides an alternative to exclusive Western clubs. Its model demonstrates that multilateralism, when inclusive and pragmatic, can deliver concrete benefits to all members. In doing so, the SCO continues to build not only a platform for cooperation but also a common home of stability, prosperity, and development for the Eurasian region and beyond.
A man in India’s south brutally killed his estranged wife at a women’s hostel and took a selfie with her dead body, according to NDTV.
The victim, identified as Sripriya, employed at a private firm in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, had separated from her husband, Balamurugam, who was from Tirunelveli.
Police said the suspect arrived at the hostel on Sunday afternoon, concealing a sickle in his clothes, and was seeking to meet her.
They had an argument soon after the couple met, and the feud turned into a violent attack by Balamurugan, who drew the sickle and hacked the woman to death.
Furthermore, the police said he then took a selfie with her body and shared it on his WhatsApp status, accusing her of “betrayal”.
The incident spread panic and chaos in the hostel.
Following the brutal murder, the suspect did not escape from the spot but waited until the police arrived, and he was arrested at the crime scene. The murder weapon was recovered.
The initial investigation suggested that he suspected his wife of being in a relationship with another man.
- Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand witness large scale devastation.
- At least 176 people perish in Thailand and three in Malaysia.
- Indonesia’s death toll reaches 502 with 508 more still missing.
PALEMBAYAN: Rescue teams in western Indonesia were battling on Monday to clear roads cut off by cyclone-induced landslides and floods, as improved weather revealed more of the scale of a disaster that has killed close to 700 people in Southeast Asia.
Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have seen large scale devastation after a rare tropical storm formed in the Malacca Strait, fuelling torrential rains and wind gusts for a week that hampered efforts to reach people stranded by mudslides and high floodwaters.
At least 176 have been killed in Thailand and three in Malaysia, while the death toll climbed to 502 in Indonesia on Monday with 508 missing, according to official figures.
Under sunshine and clear blue skies in the town of Palembayan in Indonesia’s West Sumatra, hundreds of people were clearing mud, trees and wreckage from roads as some residents tried to salvage valuable items like documents and motorcycles from their damaged homes.
Men in camouflage outfits sifted through piles of mangled poles, concrete and sheet metal roofing as pickup trucks packed with people drove around looking for missing family members and handing out water to people, some trudging through knee-deep mud.
Months of adverse, deadly weather
The government’s recovery efforts include restoring roads, bridges and telecommunication services.
More than 28,000 homes have been damaged in Indonesia and 1.4 million people affected, according to the disaster agency.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto visited the three affected provinces on Monday and praised residents for their spirit in the face of what he called a catastrophe.
“There are roads that are still cut off, but we’re doing everything we can to overcome difficulties,” he said in North Sumatra.
“We face this disaster with resilience and solidarity. Our nation is strong right now, able to overcome this.”
The devastation in the three countries follows months of adverse and deadly weather in Southeast Asia, including typhoons that have lashed the Philippines and Vietnam and caused frequent and prolonged flooding elsewhere.
Scientists have warned that extreme weather events will become more frequent as a result of global warming.
Marooned for days
In Thailand, the death toll rose slightly to 176 on Monday from flooding in eight southern provinces that affected about three million people and led to a major mobilisation of its military to evacuate critical patients from hospitals and reach people marooned for days by floodwaters.
In the hardest-hit province of Songkhla, where 138 people were killed, the government said 85% of water services had been restored and would be fully operational by Wednesday.
Much of Thailand’s recovery effort is focused on the worst-affected city Hat Yai, a southern trading hub which on November 21 received 335 mm (13 inches) of rain, its highest single-day tally in 300 years, followed by days of unrelenting downpours.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has set a timeline of seven days for residents to return to their homes, a government spokesperson said on Monday.
In neighbouring Malaysia, 11,600 people were still in evacuation centres, according to the country’s disaster agency, which said it was still on alert for a second and third wave of flooding.
- Ex-Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, sister Rehana also sentenced.
- Case relates to illegal allocation of a plot of land: local media.
- Prosecutors highlight political influence, collusion abuse of power.
DHAKA: A Bangladesh court sentenced British parliamentarian and former minister Tulip Siddiq to two years in jail in a corruption case involving the alleged illegal allocation of a plot of land, local media reported.
The verdict was delivered in absentia as Siddiq, her aunt and former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and Hasina’s sister Sheikh Rehana — all co-accused in the case — were not present in court.
Hasina was sentenced to five years in jail and Rehana to seven, the local media reports said.
Hasina, who fled to neighbouring India in August 2024 at the height of an uprising against her government, was sentenced to death last month over her government’s violent crackdown on demonstrators during the protests.
Last week, she was handed a combined 21-year prison sentence in other corruption cases.
Prosecutors said that the land was unlawfully allocated through political influence and collusion with senior officials, accusing the three powerful defendants of abusing their authority to secure the plot, measuring roughly 13,610 square feet, during Hasina’s tenure as prime minister.
Most of the 17 accused were absent when the judgement was pronounced.
Siddiq, who resigned in January as the UK’s minister responsible for financial services and anti-corruption efforts following scrutiny over her financial ties to Hasina, has previously dismissed the allegations as a “politically motivated smear”.
Britain does not currently have an extradition treaty with Bangladesh.
UK budget mildly deflationary; debt to climb past 106%: Fitch
OGRA Announces LPG Price Increase for December – SUCH TV
Richie Moriarty on season 5 of "Ghosts," his character and the cast: "We really are a family"
-
Sports1 week agoWATCH: Ronaldo scores spectacular bicycle kick
-
Entertainment1 week agoWelcome to Derry’ episode 5 delivers shocking twist
-
Politics1 week agoWashington and Kyiv Stress Any Peace Deal Must Fully Respect Ukraine’s Sovereignty
-
Business1 week agoKey economic data and trends that will shape Rachel Reeves’ Budget
-
Tech6 days agoWake Up—the Best Black Friday Mattress Sales Are Here
-
Politics1 week ago53,000 Sikhs vote in Ottawa Khalistan Referendum amid Carney-Modi trade talks scrutiny
-
Fashion1 week agoCanada’s Lululemon unveils team Canada kit for Milano Cortina 2026
-
Tech1 day agoGet Your Steps In From Your Home Office With This Walking Pad—On Sale This Week