On 22 August 2023, SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming met with Chairman of the Board of Habib Bank Limited (Pakistan) Sultan Ali Allana and President and Chief Executive Officer of the bank Muhammad Aurangzeb at the SCO Secretariat.
During the conversation, Zhang Ming thanked the Pakistani bank executives for their active participation in the SCO Interbank Consortium (SCO IBC).
The sides exchanged views on the current state of interbank cooperation within the Organisation and prospects for its development, including participation of SCO IBC member banks in implementating the Roadmap of the SCO member states to gradually increase the share of national currencies in mutual settlements.
The Agreement on Interbank Cooperation (Consortium) within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (hereinafter – SCO IBC) was signed on 26 October 2005. The main purpose of organising the mechanism is to finance and provide banking services for investment projects supported by the governments of the SCO member states.
The roadmap for the gradual increase in the share of national currencies in mutual settlements was approved by the decision of the SCO Heads of State Council in September 2022 in Samarkand. The document is aimed at creating conditions for the functioning of the system and stimulating mutual settlements in national currencies between the Organisation's member states.