SCO:Hope for Peace and Development

Kazakhstan， which holdsthe rotating presidency ofthe Shanghai CooperationOrganization （SCO）in 2023-24， is one of the foundingmembers of the SCO and a country ofindescribable beauty. “The nations arecreated， and you should love them likeyourself，” wrote the great Kazakh poetAllama Iqbal. “Love people as brothers，and then truth and life will work foryou.” This profound idea is particularlyappropriate to the SCO because itexpresses the founding philosophy ofthe organization itself.

The SCO is an importantmultilateral platform committedto promoting peace， security andcommon development， primarilyin the Eurasian region， throughdialogue and cooperation among allmember countries regardless of size，population， resources， and developmentpotential. Fostering this region asone of peace， security， commondevelopment and win-win results forall its inhabitants would be a majorcontribution to changing the destiny ofthe world. Therefore， it is the collectiveresponsibility of all member countriesand people in them to ensure the SCOremains committed and devoted tofulfilling its founding tasks.

India， alongside Pakistan， becamea full member of the SCO in 2017. Itwas a highly significant developmentfrom the perspective of peace andtranquility. One of the principalgoals of the SCO is the preventionof international conflicts throughpeaceful settlement. However， twolong-standing disputes have posed achallenge to peace and tranquility. Thefirst is a territorial dispute betweenIndia and Pakistan， and the secondis the unresolved boundary questionbetween India and China. Thesebilateral issues are not discussed at SCOforums. However， the deliberation ofthe SCO and the common consensusdeveloped by the SCO on multipleissues can enhance mutual trust andconfidence between India and Pakistanas well as between India and China.

Terrorism is a threat to humanity.In March， a barbaric terror attack inMoscow claimed the lives of 145 people.Criminality has no justification in thisera. No one should legitimize any formof terrorism. It must be fought withoutcompromise by all countries together.The SCO Charter calls for joint effortsto combat terrorism， separatism， andextremism in all their manifestations.Therefore， all SCO member countriesmust fulfill obligations in the commonfight against terrorism.

We live in a world of rapid changes.Global domination by the West iscoming to an end. However， sadly， therest of the world is neither sufficientlyunited nor guided by common loftygoals to offer an alternative part towardspeace， justice， democracy， eliminationof poverty， equitable development，environmental protection， and goodglobal governance. All progressivepeople around the world should makeconcerted efforts to promote these nobleideas. The most urgent is the need tostrengthen the United Nations system. Inevery such effort， multilateral platformslike the SCO can play an important role.I strongly believe that SCO deliberationshould not be left only to governmentleaders and diplomats. It is equallynecessary to broaden and deepen theparticipation of writers， educators，artists， cultural and media personalities，and other members of civil society.