Moscow: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has called for greater focus on innovation, collaboration, and deeper integration among SCO countries to build a legacy of shared success that strengthens the entire region. Addressing the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Moscow today, he emphasized that the SCO is well placed to promote regional cooperation in dealing with emergency situations and to expand cooperation in the humanitarian field.

According to Radio Pakistan, Ishaq Dar said Pakistan has developed a technology-driven proactive disaster management system. He mentioned that Pakistan is keen to organize simulation exercises with SCO partners to bolster disaster preparedness across the region.

The Deputy Prime Minister proposed to operationalize financial tools for the promotion of trade and economy. He highlighted the need to aggressively utilize existing tools, such as the SCO inter-bank consortium, to finance connectivity and technical collaboration projects.

Emphasizing the need for investing in the youth, Ishaq Dar stated that Pakistan advocates for a significant expansion of the SCO University Network into a consortium for applied knowledge. He pointed out that this will facilitate not only student exchanges but also joint research programs in critical fields such as Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, agriculture, water resource management, and tele-medicine.