The SCO told about the discussion of creating its own currency

The issue of creating its own currency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is still under discussion. This was stated by Secretary General of the organization Nurlan Yermekbayev on January 3.

According to him, at the moment the SCO payment systems are integrated with other currencies.

"In general, there is an understanding of the need to increase the share of national currencies, experts have made proposals to create their own currency or some kind of SCO unit of account, but this work is still at the discussion stage," Yermekbayev told RIA Novosti.

Last July, the organization's deputy secretary-general Janesh Kane told Izvestia that the SCO was discussing the possibility of creating a single system for payments in national currencies. Later, in October, former SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming told Izvestia that this issue was being discussed in an unofficial format.

In addition, he noted at the time that the economic integration of the SCO member states was increasing.

Also in July, UN Secretary General António Guterres said that the SCO plays an important role in the international arena and contributes to regional stability. He pointed out that the organization remains committed to its original goal of coordinating responses to common threats, but also seeks to deepen economic integration and multifaceted cooperation, contributing to regional security.

The SCO was established on June 15, 2001. The members of the organization are Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, India, Iran and Belarus.