OREANDA-NEWS. February 02, 2009. A regular meeting of the Board of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Business Council (SCO BC) was held in Shenzhen (Guandun Province, South China), reported the press-centre of SOGAZ.

The meeting was attended by SCO General Secretary, Bolat Nurgaliev, SCO BC Chairman of the Board, Dmitry Mezentsev, chairpersons of SCO BC national components, and business representatives of SCO member-states.

A regular meeting of the Board of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Business Council (SCO BC) was held in Shenzhen (Guandun Province, South China) on January 17, 2009. The meeting was attended by SCO General Secretary, Bolat Nurgaliev, SCO BC Chairman of the Board, Dmitry Mezentsev, chairpersons of SCO BC national components, and business representatives of SCO member-states.

Vadim Yanov, Chairman of the Board of SOGAZ Insurance Group, reported on the development of a single insurance market in SCO territory, outlining the main challenges and lines of cooperation among the SCO countries in the field of insurance.

According to Mr. Yanov, one of the urgent tasks is harmonizing the insurance laws and the regulatory and legal base of SCO countries, providing first of all for reducing administrative and other barriers to a minimum level, and the development of basic principles for coordinated insurance policies in the SCO countries. “We must concentrate our efforts to counter insurance fraud, establish a data base on the insurance sectors within SCO countries, exchange experiences on insurance personnel training and retraining, exchange experiences from court and arbitration practices connected with insurance-related case consideration, etc.,” noted Mr. Yanov in his address.

Mr. Yanov mentioned the creation of an international reinsurance mechanism to minimize risks for the fuel and energy industry, as well as combining insurers’ efforts in managing environmental, investment and cross-border risks in the SCO territory among the most prospective lines of cooperation between the SCO member-states in the field of insurance.

Mr.Yanov stressed the need for the Business Council to set up an international expert group on the development of the SCO insurance market, noting that a similar group has been successfully operating within the Russian component of the Business Council since last August. He also proposed to hold a Round Table involving insurance companies, representatives of the banking community, and other interested parties within the framework of the 13th Petersburg International Economic Forum (June, 2009) to discuss risk management issues in the banking and investment sectors.

The proposals of the Board Chairman met with whole-hearted support from those attending the meeting.

The Shanghai Cooperation Group is comprised of Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Kirgizia, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, with Mongolia, Iran, India and Pakistan having an observer’s status.