India called for leveraging the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) collective strengths to drive shared prosperity at the SCO Trade Ministers’ Meeting held in Vladivostok.
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
India called for leveraging the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) collective strengths to drive shared prosperity at the SCO Trade Ministers’ Meeting held in Vladivostok.
At the meeting, India highlighted the need for export diversification, reducing dependency, and building resilient supply chains. With the SCO accounting for 42% of the world’s population and 17.2% of global trade, India emphasised the importance of coordinated action to enhance trade flows, address vulnerabilities, and support inclusive growth across the region.
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Amitabh Kumar, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce underlined the importance of an open, fair and inclusive multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core. He pressed for a development-focused agenda, including a permanent solution on Public Stockholding (PSH) for food security, effective Special & Differential Treatment (S&DT) for developing countries, and the restoration of a fully functional WTO dispute settlement system.
India highlighted services trade and the temporary movement of skilled professionals as key enablers of economic growth and urged greater MSME integration into global value chains. On supply chains, India stressed the need for diversification through geographical spread, interoperable logistics, and enhanced connectivity while cautioning against the misuse of export restrictions to distort markets or disrupt flows.
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On the digital economy, the Ministry proposed new SCO workstreams to develop fair and transparent regulatory frameworks, promote voluntary best-practice sharing, and support capacity-building. It showcased its Digital Public Infrastructure achievements, including UPI for real-time payments, India Stack for identity management, and ONDC for digital commerce models that could reduce costs for MSMEs and expand cross-border digital trade.
In the sustainability domain, India reiterated its commitment to equity and the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC).
It spotlighted the Mission LiFE initiative, calling for finance and affordable technology to support climate action, while warning against trade-linked climate measures that may lead to arbitrary or unjustified discrimination.
The Indian delegation also pitched the AVGC sector (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics) as a driver of employment and exports. Referring to its successful hosting of the inaugural World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES 2025), and outlined new initiatives such as Waves Bazaar for global collaboration, WaveX for start-up funding, and Creatosphere for talent development. With 17 co-production agreements in place, it positioned itself as an emerging global film production hub.
Thanking Russia for steering a substantive trade agenda under its presidency, India reaffirmed its commitment to collaborate under Tajikistan’s upcoming chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of Government (2026–27) to advance sustainable and inclusive growth across the region.
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