OREANDA-NEWS. January 23, 2013. CCI of Russia President Sergey Katyrin took part in a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Business Council Board and made a speech as the Chairman of the National Part of the Business Council.

He proposed to accelerate the planning of SCO Business Council events so that the plan could be discussed and approved at the SCO Bishkek summit in summer 2013. Sergey Katyrin also proposed to boost information exchange at the SCO Business Council.

Meeting participants listened to reports of other chairmen of national parts of the Business Council, discussed performance of the Secretariat of the Business Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2011-2012 and approved an action plan for 2013-2014. Prospective joint projects were presented. Records of the meeting of the SCO Business Council Board were approved.

The SCO Business Council was established in Shanghai on June 14, 2006, under a decision of the Council of SCO Chiefs of State. The Business Council is a non-governmental entity that unites the most authoritative representatives of national business communities of member countries for broadening economic cooperation within the framework of the organization, establishing direct contacts and dialog between business and financial circles and assisting in the promotion of multilateral projects.

The SCO Business Council is an independent structure capable of making advisory decisions and offering expert opinions of promising areas of the involvement of businessmen from SCO member countries in trade, economic and investment projects within the organization.

A specific feature of the SCO Business Council is its focus on interaction in education, science, innovative technologies and healthcare alongside energy, transport, telecommunications and the crediting and banking sector as primary areas of interstate cooperation.