On November 9, 2019, the SCO Secretariat hosted the 4th International SCO Model youth conference on the subject "Development of the Digital Economy and E-Trade in the SCO Member States." During the conference, students and masters candidates from various Chinese universities modelled the activities of the SCO.
The conference was attended by SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov who thanked the participants for their enthusiastic and creative work. He noted that the subject of the conference was very timely because the digital economy, especially e-trade, is making rapid progress.
Mr Norov noted the strong preparation of the delegations, the high quality of the discussions and the very useful and interesting ideas that were voiced at the conference. He suggested they be developed and submitted for consideration by the SCO member and observer states.
The participants presented reports and discussed the agenda with due account for SCO practice and assessment of the development level of the participating countries and regions. They focused on a search for collective solutions on developing the digital economy and e-trade.
The Indian delegation emphasised that the SCO region loses from $10 billion to $20 billion on Western payment gateway transactions. Moreover, this complicated expensive and time consuming process makes the SCO economy dependent on Western currency fluctuations. To make the SCO region less vulnerable and less reliant on the Western economy, the Indians suggested an SCO-based and owned system of currency exchanges between the SCO member countries.
According to the Kazakh delegation, at the beginning of 2019, Kazakhstan's online trade was estimated at 287 billion tenge. In only a year it increased by 23.2 percent. Online trade was a mere 2.9 percent, which points to considerable growth potential. Kazakhstan leads the world in the increase of card payments — from 2013 to 2017 the weighted average was 20.5 percent a year. Today, Kazakhstan is undergoing an important stage in its development and is resolving a strategic task — to be one of the top 30 most competitive countries of the world. In this context, digitisation is an inalienable element of implementing this strategy.
The Chinese delegation noted its willingness to take an active part in implementing the concept of cooperation among the SCO member states in digitisation and ICT that was adopted in Bishkek on June 14, 2019, and to participate in the dialogue on modern telecommunications and communications technology in the SCO member states. They were also willing to conduct practical training sessions on the development of the digital economy for the SCO member states; they suggested inviting representatives from companies, and experts and researchers, sharing
China's development experience and encouraging other countries to share the development opportunities created by the digital economy and e-trade.
China is ready to work with all parties in creating an information security network centre for the SCO member states to facilitate a broader information exchange and promote cooperation between the SCO member states in countering cybercrime and ensuring cybersecurity.
The Kyrgyz delegation suggested drafting a programme on exchanging experience and training young professionals to master computer software and communications as an inter-republican project. The proposed project would be based on an exchange of experience via the Deep Dive professional practical training in one of the companies in the SCO countries, Bootcamp (training sessions) and Hackaton (an event during which many people meet to engage in software engineering over several days). The goal of these training sessions is to develop new skills for resolving existing problems.
According to the Pakistani delegation, at present the country has 59 million smartphone users, about 83 percent of which are Android users. Indicatively, the number of 3G and 4G subscribers has increased by four times in the past three years. Pakistan was the first country to launch 5G services in the South Asian countries owing to its successful attempts in several cities. Pakistan is the fourth popular country among freelancers. It is also the leader of mobile banking transactions in South Asia.
The Russian delegation proposed creating a single scientific and education space in the SCO region to facilitate the exchange of related knowledge and create conditions for granting access to the latest information for everyone interested, and most important, promoting the development of SCO youth.
The Tajik delegation reported that over 1.4 million people own credit/debit cards in the national payment system. According to estimates, 46 percent of Tajiks have regular access to the internet at home, office, school, internet café or via a mobile phone. The value of the digital economy is not limited to practical use. It reflects one more, entirely different parameter that makes it possible to take a new look at the integration of different social processes. The digital economy is actually restructuring the system of government institutions that are compelled to operate in the sphere of private interests, which makes them more open.
The Uzbek delegation noted that President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has instructed experts to draft a digital economy national concept that provides for upgrading all economic sectors based on the digital economy and introduce a relevant programme "Digital Uzbekistan — 2030." To encourage the onset of the digital economy, it will be necessary to take general measures and remove the barriers that impede sustainable development and a move to the digital economy and e-commerce.
The Afghan delegation pointed out that digitisation of the economy can reduce business costs owing to e-trade and by creating opportunities for new companies
and entrepreneurs to take part in business and enter new markets. The development of e-commerce can become a driver of economic growth, promote the expansion of exports and diversification, and help small- and medium-sized business to enter international markets.
The Belarusian delegation proposed a project for creating a system of generally available, standardised no-cost computer training for all citizens by establishing specialised educational institutions at the local level, which would considerably enhance digital literacy in the SCO region.
The Iranian delegation reported that e-commerce in Iran increased 31 percent compared with the previous year. An analysis of the e-trade structural base showed that the internet penetration rate is about 78 percent, which is higher than the world average. In addition, the number of internet users as potential buyers of e-trade commodities has grown from 9.4 percent in 2018 to 71 percent in 2019, as a result of which Iran ranks 20th in this indicator.
The Mongol delegation said that the best method to benefit every SCO member and observer state is to have common centralised management, and a strategic digital economic programme that every member state can follow, and adapt its economy and planning accordingly.
Following the conference, the participants adopted the Joint Statement (Concept) on Developing E-Trade in the SCO Space.