SCO currently comprises India, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The meeting was attended in person by representatives from Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, while Kazakhstan, China and Pakistan participated in the meeting virtually. During his speech, Gadkari said that connectivity with SCO countries is a priority for India. Commenting on the growth of India’s transport sector, he said that it is the backbone of the Indian economy and is the key enabler for the growth of a country. India is the world's third largest automotive market, after China and the USA, with the industry’s size having grown to Rs 7.45 lakh crore and export contribution of Rs 3.5 lakh crore.
With a rate of 9.91% of automobile growth per annum and rapid urbanization and industrialization, there is tremendous growth in the number and frequency of different transport modes and their movement. Country’s transport sector accounts for 40% of the country's total CO2 emissions, with the transportation industry contributing 330 million metric tonnes of CO2 equivalents every year and the country has identified the immediate need to de-carbonize the transport sector and make it sustainable and adopted the policy of promoting clean, green, cost-effective and alternate fuels for transportation, he claimed.
