Harnessing the Economic Transformation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Economic Opportunities and Challenges for Pakistan

Abstract

The full membership of Pakistan in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, since 2017, presented a wide range of opportunities in the realm of economic development as well as regional integration. While the SCO economic transformation came with an enormous potential benefit on the facilitation of trade, infrastructure development, and financial cooperation, these have not been fully harnessed by Pakistan. This paper, therefore, discusses why Pakistan has realized only limited success in securing the attendant economic benefits of the SCO. Given that the study applies a qualitative research approach and a comprehensive review of related literature, it discusses the economic framework of SCO and determines the strategic economic initiatives that Pakistan can adopt. This mainly brings out internal challenges such as policy gaps, institutional deficiencies, and lack of strategic planning that hinder effective participation in the economic activities of the SCO. This paper identifies and discusses a framework for Pakistan to engage more meaningfully with the SCO by overcoming these challenges through policy reforms, institutional strengthening, and strategic actions. Subsequently, it concludes that Pakistan needs to overcome internal impediments so as to align with the SCO's strategic economic ideas and programs and, through this, achieve greater economic dividends of its membership, overall, and contribute far more measurably to regional economic integration.