SCO: Security and Economic Cooperation

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a regional organization for security and economic cooperation. Established in the Chinese city of Shanghai at a meeting of heads of 6 countries – Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan (June 15, 2001).

Initially, the leaders of Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan met (the “Shanghai Five”), where several agreements were signed. For the first time, the Republic of Uzbekistan took part as an observer at the SCO Summit in 2000 and decided to participate as one of the founders of the SCO based on its national interests, taking into account the military-political situation in the Central Asian region.

At a meeting in Tashkent on June 17, 2004, the initiative of the Republic of Uzbekistan to hold regular meetings of the secretaries of the Security Councils of the Member States of the Organization was supported.

Now the SCO has a wide network of partner organizations – the UN, ASEAN, CIS, CSTO, EAEU, CICA, ECO. Relations are being established with the League of Arab States and a number of other multilateral structures.

The SCO space is a self-sufficient region in terms of having huge reserves of raw materials, manufactured products, skilled labor and human capital, and technological potential. After more than 20 years of the existence of the SCO, CA continues to be the geographical core of the Organization.

In September 2021, the baton of chairmanship in the SCO passed to Uzbekistan. Over the past year, more than 80 events were held under the Plan of our country’s chairmanship in the SCO.

They cover not only the areas of cooperation already established in the SCO, but also new areas of demand: the development of cooperation in the field of intra-regional trade, industrial cooperation, innovation, poverty reduction, digital transformation and others.

The main emphasis of the chairmanship of Uzbekistan is on the substantive content of the current agenda of the SCO.

In order to implement the initiatives, put forward by the Head of our state during this period, drafts of 14 new conceptual documents have been developed, which are aimed at the substantive and institutional expansion of areas of interaction in the SCO.

In July 2018, the Silk Road International Tourism University was opened in Samarkand.

The initiative to open a higher educational institution in the field of tourism was first put forward by the President of our republic Sh. Mirziyoyev at the G8 Summit as part of the meeting of the heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, held in the Chinese city of Qingdao. On June 28, 2018, the Decree of the President on the establishment of the university was signed. According to the document, the educational and methodological guidance and the educational process are regulated by the State Committee for the Development of Tourism, transformed into the Ministry of Tourism and cultural heritage of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Being one of the most famous and prestigious higher educational institutions in the country, this is also the very first university in the field of tourism in Central Asia.

The university offers education in almost all possible areas and specialties of bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the field of tourism, combining three major areas: communications, economics and humanities. The full – time bachelor’s degree program includes more than 20 areas: marketing in the field of tourism; logistics in tourism activities; management of mass events; tour guide, translation activities and others.

A special flavor of the university is given by the fact that it is located in the iconic city of Central Asia – Samarkand, which once occupied the same position in the scientific world as Oxford in the UK, known as the center of the scientific thought of the East, with its own achievements and traditions.

The university has developed a training program for the magistracy department based on the latest international standards. The master’s degree program includes such areas as tourism management, hotels and mass events, management in the field of international hospitality and tourism, as well as economics and tourism management. The university already has a doctoral program and a center for advanced training of faculty and staff.

Since 2019, the university has been implementing a joint educational program for bachelors “3 + 1” with the issuance of double diplomas. Within the framework of this program, an agreement was concluded with the leading international tourism institutions of Indonesia and China. Grants from international organizations operate at the university. Not so long ago, the Silk Road IUT became the owner of a grant from the British Council. This five-year project aims to train and develop creative thinking in students, improve English language skills, develop skills for entrepreneurship, and promote academic cooperation between universities and scientific institutions in the field of tourism.

It is known that on September 15-16, 2022 a summit of leaders of the SCO member states will be held in Samarkand under the chairmanship of Uzbekistan. Preparations for the high-level event are in full swing. On the eve of the summit, Samarkand is experiencing a new birth with a large-scale reconstruction and is ready to host the largest political and diplomatic forum of the year in the Eurasian space.

The heads of state will discuss new challenges and tasks facing the SCO in the light of the profound transformation of modern international relations, and will take a number of important decisions that will be of historical significance for the subsequent evolution of the organization.

One of the key issues on the agenda of the summit meeting is the further expansion of the SCO. The Memorandum of Obligations of the Islamic Republic of Iran in order to obtain the status of a SCO member state is already ready for signing.

Signing of memorandums on establishing partnership relations between the SCO and a number of other international and regional organizations such as the Arab League, UNESCO, ESCAP is also expected at the summit site.

To date, great creative work has been carried out in the city of Samarkand, including the construction of a new Samarkand International Airport, and the creation of the Silk Road Tourism Center.

In preparation for the international event, the working group examined 55 hotels (25 main and 30 additional reserve), 43 restaurants, cafes and other catering establishments located in Samarkand, and all measures were taken to serve high-ranking guests.

Employees of the hotels registered for the SCO summit were trained in 48-hour courses at the International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage “Silk Road” and received certificates. At the same time, lessons were held on their culture of behavior, warm attitude towards guests and a high level of service.

On August 23, 2022, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part in the opening ceremony of the international tourist center “The Great Silk Road” with the “Eternal City” complex, built along the rowing canal in the Samarkand region.

Created thanks to the intellectual potential and selfless work of our people, this complex has become another striking achievement on the path to building New Uzbekistan. I congratulate all of you on such a modern, magnificent architectural complex, erected in the ancient and eternally young Samarkand. May he serve our people for many centuries!” said the President in his welcoming speech.

The construction of the complex on an area of 212 hectares along the rowing canal was initiated by Shavkat Mirziyoyev in 2019.

The multidisciplinary center, in addition to the “Eternal City”, includes 8 hotels, a congress hall, an amphitheater and other facilities. It is capable of serving 2 million tourists a year.

One of its purposes is to host international events. On September 15-16, the center will host the participants of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Then a meeting of the leaders of the member states of the Organization of Turkic States will take place.

Next year, the annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization will be held.

“This wonderful center is a continuation of the architectural traditions founded by our great ancestors. I am sure that it will become a symbolic bridge between our glorious history and the Third Renaissance, the foundation of which we are currently forming,” noted the President.

The complex has an old bazaar, 40 craft workshops in the traditions of all regions of Uzbekistan. In them, artisans will conduct master classes in wood carving, pottery, silk paper, jewelry and carpet weaving.

The head of state noted that the tourist center will contribute to increasing the number of foreign tourists coming to Samarkand to more than 1.5 million people in the coming years. In general, the goal is to increase the number of tourists to Uzbekistan from the current 2 million to 9 million in the next five years.