Eurasian Economic Forum due in China in September - SCO Secretary General

BEIJING, July 7. /TASS/. The Eurasian Economic Forum will be held in September in Xi’an in northern China with ministers of the SCO member states taking part, SCO Secretary General Dmitry Mezentsev told TASS on Tuesday. "China has announced an unprecedented format. And we are confident that once announced it will be preserved in the future," said the SCO head. According to Mezentsev, one of the most important issues on the agenda will be modernization of trade and economic cooperation between SCO member states. "Of course we expect that the issue of financial clearing, taking into consideration among other things the creation of the Silk Road Fund and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, will be reflected both in the agenda and in the discussions with heads of delegations from observing countries," he said. When asked how SCO’s economic plans combine with the Chinese project of the Silk Road Economic Belt, Mezentsev said: "I am confident that common points will be found, including correlation between this project and national programmes of economic development." He also added that SCO member states received the corresponding invitation from China at a summit in Dushanbe. "At the Astana summit last year the topic was given a lot of attention. I am confident there is a lot of work ahead," the secretary general said, adding that one should avoid "any unnecessary counterproductive competition" while working on such large-scale projects. Read more