Your Exllency Mr. Samdech Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia,
Distinguished heads of state and government and participants of the Summit,
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Your Excellency Mr. Prime Minister for the invitation to participate in today's summit. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization – SCO and ASEAN are neighbours to each other geographically and the member states of the two organizations have been linked closely by the historical and cultural ties in the past and friendly cooperative relations at the present. So, it’s my great pleasure to be invited to speak on this platform on one of the most pressing topics on the agenda of our planet.
The world today faces serious threats in the sphere of food security. Factors such as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical conflicts are taking their toll on global food production and supply chains.
The SCO region is an integral part of the global economy. The global food security situation invariably affects our states, where about 40% of the world's population lives. The SCO member states are also the major participants of the world trade system, providing more than one tenth of the global turnover of agricultural production. Therefore, the issues of agriculture and food security as one of the most important conditions for the well-being of the population and hence sustainable economic development are on the focus of our Organization.
Through the exchange of agricultural technologies and solutions, expansion of trade in agricultural products, increasing food productivity, maintenance of uninterrupted functioning of supply chains and other active measures, the SCO member states direct their efforts to jointly ensuring regional and global food security.
SCO pays significant attention to the development of scientific, technological and innovative cooperation in the field of agriculture, introduction of modern technologies, digital solutions and modernized methods of agricultural production in the SCO region.
Practical work on transfer of agricultural technologies, attracting investments, promotion of trade and combining of specific joint projects in the agricultural sphere in the SCO format has been carried out for several years by the SCO Demonstration Base for Exchange and Training of Agricultural Technologies established in Yanglin city of China.
We are systematically developing partnership of SCO with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) aimed at joint efforts to develop innovative and sustainable agriculture.
We support the holding of UN International Year of Millet in 2023 as an innovative solution to counter the global food crisis.
Distinguished Participants of the Summit,
Energy is an important pillar of modern economic and social development. Both major energy-producing countries and energy-consuming countries are represented in the SCO. The SCO member states occupy leading positions in reserves of such energy resources as oil, gas, uranium and hydropower. Therefore, energy cooperation is an important component of the SCO economic agenda and is considered as a factor of stability and sustainable development of the region.
The current complex international energy security situation, climate change, the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, regional crises and unilateral restrictive measures are changing the balance between supply and demand of energy resources worldwide. The supply chains of energy resources are disrupted, leading to sharp fluctuations in energy markets and a significant rise in energy prices.
Against this background, the SCO countries aim to coordinate their energy policies and work out joint steps to ensure energy security, paying special attention to renewable energy and interaction in the field of scientific and technological innovations.
In order to contribute to the global effort to achieve carbon neutrality, our Organization advocates the formation of a system of clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy, as well as the diversification of energy types and sources, taking into account conditions and characteristics of each State, and making use of the complementary advantages of energy systems.
Dear Friends,
The countries of SCO, ASEAN and the participating states of the East Asia Summit are connected not only by geographical proximity, but also by a common interest in strengthening peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific Region, including through mutually beneficial economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation.
The expansion of the SCO’s geography and the accession of new members to our family with enormous market potential, industrial development, natural and human resources open up new prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation in Asia.
SCO is ready to work together with other countries and international organizations at the regional and global levels, especially ASEAN and its member states, on the themes of food and energy security to achieve the relevant goals of the UN Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030.
Thank you for your attention.