Pakistan PM Imran Khan proposed to ditch US dollar at the SCO summit

Pakistan PM Imran Khan proposed to ditch US dollar at the SCO summit

BISHKEK: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had proposed to ditch US dollar at the SCO summit.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday urged the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to finalise arrangements for trade in local currencies.

Khan further urged to set up SCO Fund and SCO Development Bank to catalyse the trans-regional development agenda.

He was presenting his eight-pronged course of action for SCO in the light chaotic international politics at the 19th meeting of SCO Council of Heads of State in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on Friday.

The prime minister said the SCO should reinforce its vision of cooperation, that rejects confrontation, and advance the imperatives of peaceful co-existence at the regional and international levels.

He said the SCO member states should galvanise the “Shanghai Spirit” to strengthen the organisation’s core mandate of mitigating the risks of conflict, fostering confidence, and promoting stability.

He said the member states need to synergise the various region-wide connectivity initiatives and work on complementing infrastructure connectivity with soft connectivity.

He proposed setting up SCO culture and tourism corridors, clustering multiple SCO destinations into a single package.

Imran emphasised on making the SCO more relevant to the daily lives of citizens by promoting food security and enhancing cooperation in health and humanitarian sectors. He said SCO should take the lead role in establishing a comprehensive framework for combating corruption and white-collar crime.