Search

The publication is aimed at researching the directions of integration activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on the basis of analysis of its main documents and results of the activities of the member countries. The publication shows that nowadays new directions, projects and mechanisms for economic cooperation, having potential to influence the global economy, are being formed within the framework of the Organization. It is argued that the economic results of the SCO activities for the member countries are based, above all, on the great creative potential of economic self-sufficiency of the Organization due to the existence of a closed cycle of producers and consumers, which forms a huge reserve of its economic development as a whole and of each its individual member in particular. The conclusion is that the main economic performance of the member countries is related to trade, energy cooperation, creation of a favorable investment climate, regional division of labor. However, the uneven economic potential of the member countries creates imbalances and causes problems as a result of their raw material orientation, low financial strength, underdeveloped institutions of the modern market, as well as a result of the recent weakening of interest on the part of the leader of the Organization – China – to the narrow Eurasian cooperation.