The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has excellent prospects for transformation and growth, not only through quantitative replenishment, but also through the opening of new strategic vectors, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said on Monday.

Mirziyoyev made the remarks in a signed article named "The Samarkand SCO Summit – Dialogue and Cooperation in an Interconnected World" published by China International Communications Group Europe-Asia in the run up to the 22nd summit of the SCO.

The article states that the effective international cooperation makes the world more stable, predictable and prosperous. This is the most viable, accessible and closest way to solving common problems of our time as well as a universal insurance policy against the future challenges and shocks.

SCO is a model for successful regional cooperation

As one of the youngest international organizations, SCO has made a path in a relatively short period, to unite countries with different cultural and civilizational codes, foreign policy guidelines and models of national development, becoming an indispensable part of the modern global political and economic world order, Mirziyoyev noted.

He mentioned the key to SCO's success is its non-bloc status, openness, policy of non-targeting against third countries or international organizations, as well as holding equality and respect for the sovereignty of all participants, refusing to interfere in the internal affairs and the prevention of political confrontation and unhealthy rivalry.

Mirziyoyev also recognized the solid contribution the SCO made to the global sustainable development, as the total GDP of the SCO member states has reached about a quarter of the global figure, from the large volumes of unused natural resources containing huge human, intellectual and technological potential.

He shared his hopes of SCO's transformation and growth through quantitative replenishment and the opening of new strategic vectors.

Samarkand Spirit: Embodiment of cooperation, mutual understanding, friendship

The ancient city of Samarkand, the jewel of the Great Silk Road, is ready to welcome the leaders of 14 countries with new breakthrough proposals and initiatives designed to serve for good and prosperity of the SCO and each of its members, according to the article.

For many centuries, this city has been threading together countries from Europe to China, merging North and South, East and West into a single node.

These unique qualities of Samarkand, which today has a modern and dynamically developing infrastructure, turning it into the most suitable and demanded platform for joint discussions, searching for necessary responses to regional and global challenges, Mirziyoyev noted.

Historically, the world looked upon from Samarkand has been seen as single and indivisible, rather than fragmented. This is indeed the essence of the unique phenomenon of the Samarkand spirit, which can serve as the basis for a fundamentally new format of international interaction, including within the SCO.

Noting the Samarkand spirit is designed to naturally complement the very Shanghai spirit, Mirziyoyev stated he is convinced that the decisions of the upcoming summit of SCO will make a feasible contribution to strengthening the dialogue, mutual understanding and cooperation both at the regional level and on a global scale.

The 22nd Summit of the SCO is scheduled to take place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on September 15-16, 2022. Today's SCO covers about a quarter of the Earth's land area and accounts for 40 percent of the world's population.

(Cover: Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan. /CFP)