SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov addressed the first SCO Startup Forum organised by India via videoconference on 27 October 2020. The event was attended by over 1,500 participants from across the world, including SCO Family countries, as well as by high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of India.
The agenda consisting of six panel discussions included the presentation of startups, the exchange of advance experience, the attraction of corporations and investors, social innovations, knowledge exchange seminars and multilateral incubator programmes.
The novel coronavirus pandemic has become a huge global challenge to healthcare and an economic shock of the century, disrupting world trade and supply chains, reducing investment and increasing unemployment.
The SCO countries are working energetically to involve young people in business activities.
In particular, the SCO member states have called for promoting business incubators to improve the business climate in the region and support youth startup projects.
The International BRICS Youth Business Incubator has been launched within the framework of the SCO Youth Council to help train startup tutors, open up the system of business incubators for young people and to hold training sessions in the participating countries.
In light of the vital importance of innovations and the digital economy for economic growth, the SCO member states are emphasising mutual cooperation in the field of e-commerce and the promotion of startup initiatives at the bilateral level.
Despite the negative impact, the coronavirus pandemic has created new opportunities for the world.
Speaking about the importance of startups, Vladimir Norov mentioned the timely nature of the event and pointed out that supporting young entrepreneurs amid the negative consequences of the pandemic and popularising creative ideas were extremely important for the economic recovery and welfare of the SCO nations.
The SCO Secretary-General also mentioned the Concept for Cooperation between the SCO Member States in the Sphere of Digitalisation and Information and Communication Technologies, adopted at the Bishkek summit in 2019. He noted in this connection that the concept would facilitate the joint development of the regional countries' digital economies through the exchange of experience, the development of human resources and the implementation of joint economic and research projects.
At the same time, the concept stipulates cooperation between the SCO member states in the implementation of joint projects aimed at creating innovation clusters and technology parks in the SCO space based on high-tech and science-intensive solutions and digital technologies.
Vladimir Norov expressed his appreciation of the member states' role in this sphere and called for continued joint efforts to promote cooperation, adopt the necessary laws and provide benefits to experts and young entrepreneurs taking part in promoting startup projects.
The SCO Secretary-General proposed creating an online platform that will offer guidelines for the implementation of startup projects by young people in the SCO member states.
He added that this platform could be used to publish information about startup rules, laws and procedures, as well as news about the development of startups in the SCO region.
Vladimir Norov also mentioned the possibility of organising webinars to coordinate proposals for drafting a programme of multilateral collaboration in the development of startup projects in the SCO space. In this connection, he reaffirmed the SCO Secretariat's commitment to provide all-round assistance to the organisation of such events.
Mr Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of India, praised the transformation potential of startups in the age of the pandemic and mentioned several initiatives launched in this field in India. He also thanked the SCO Secretary-General for his support and proposals.