SCO economic cooperation enjoys bright future

China and Russia could facilitate multilateral economic cooperation within the mechanism, he added.

The two countries are pioneers in using their own currencies for trade settlement, he said, adding he believed both the ruble and the yuan could play the role of reserve currency in the CIS (Commonwealth of Independence States) economic spheres.

"That won't happen tomorrow but we may set these ambitious goals," he added. As for the initiative to create an SCO development bank, Petrov said it was an interesting idea which requires several preconditions to be fulfilled. "We need no hurry in that case."

On the topic of setting up an SCO special account, Petrov said such an account will be very helpful for multilateral economic cooperation projects, yet he also admitted the job is highly complex with many problems remaining unsolved.

He suggested that the SCO countries bring their developmental financial institutions into multilateral cooperation framework, so that their rich financial assets could facilitate two-way trade among the SCO companies.

Meanwhile, there should not be rivalry between the SCO and existing regional economic blocs, he noted.

For example, the Customs Union which groups Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan is an open association, and "is not going to build another Berlin Wall."

The most important thing is to "find the multilateral projects which would strengthen multilateral ties and increase welfare of the people of our countries," said the expert.

Speaking of the upcoming SCO summit in Bishkek, Petrov said regional security would be the main topic at the meeting.

He said the situation in Afghanistan would be very complex in 2014 for no one can tell what the country will look like when the NATO forces withdraw.