New Delhi [India], September 29 (ANI): Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel said constructive cooperation, coupled with trust and transparency is key to tap the trade potential of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states. She was speaking at the 21st meeting of SCO ministers responsible for foreign economy and foreign trade, an official statement said on Friday.

The minister highlighted the opportunities available in the SCO region for mutually beneficial, balanced and equitable gains for all SCO members and stressed the need for effective cooperation between member states for balanced and equitable growth in trade and commerce.

The minister underscored the importance of collective efforts to achieve balanced and equitable economic growth by way of making trade an engine of reviving growth and driver of economic recovery. She emphasised that trust and transparency determine the sustainability of global trade and the preservation of fundamental principles and objectives of the multilateral trading system.

She lauded the recent initiative of SCO, wherein Varanasi city had been nominated as the first-ever SCO tourism and cultural capital for 2022-2023. She expressed hope that this will help promote tourism and people-to-people interaction and boost trade and economic cooperation.

She also stressed the need to work towards enhancing affordable access to medicines, therapeutics, vaccines as well as health care at affordable prices for fighting any pandemic to preserve the life, livelihood, food and nutritional security of the poorest.

The minister emphasised the need to share the best practices on technological development, optimum utilisation of resources, conservation of the environment, sustainable distribution of resources so that the present and future generations have adequate resources to live with, in a happy environment. On the issue of the environment, she expressed that the climate agenda at the world forum should not be used to introduce measures restricting trade and investment cooperation.

The minister of state also highlighted that there is a significant gap in digital technologies between developed and developing countries which needs to be narrowed down.

The virtual meeting was attended by the representatives of SCO and heads of delegations from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. (ANI)