How will membership expansion affect the

SCO?

How have Sino-Russian relations shaped

the SCO?

Does the SCO foster economic

cooperation among member states?

Introduction

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, often called the SCO, is a big group of countries in
Eurasia [the large land area that includes Europe and Asia] that work together on politics
[government decisions], economics [money and trade matters], and security [keeping safe from
threats like terrorism]. It helps these countries talk and cooperate to make their region more
stable and prosperous [successful and wealthy].

Foundation and history

Growth and Expansion of the SCOThe SCO started on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai, China, when
six countries—China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan—signed a
special agreement called the Declaration of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. This was to
build stronger friendships, trust, and teamwork in politics and business. Before that, in 1996, five
of these countries (without Uzbekistan) formed a smaller group called the Shanghai Five to focus
on making borders safer by reducing military forces there and building trust.

Growth and Expansion of the SCO

The history of the SCO shows how it grew from a small border-safety group to a major
international organization.

 In 1996, the Shanghai Five signed a treaty in Shanghai to build military trust in border areas.
 Then, in 1997, they signed another treaty in Moscow to cut down military forces near
borders.
 From 1998 to 2000, they held yearly meetings in places like Almaty, Bishkek, and Dushanbe
to talk about not interfering in each other's internal problems [issues inside a country] and
supporting each other's control over their lands.
 The SCO holds important meetings called summits where leaders of member countries meet to
discuss and decide things. These are the Council of Heads of State Summits, and here is a full list
with dates, places, and key things that happened:

Summit Date Location Key Highlights or Outcomes

Number
1 June 14–15, Shanghai, China Established the SCO [Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional
2001 alliance for security and economic cooperation]; signed the founding
declaration; focused on regional security and economic ties.
2 June 7, 2002 Saint Signed the SCO Charter [a formal document outlining the
Petersburg, organization’s rules and goals].
Russia
3 May 29, Moscow, Russia Discussed strengthening cooperation among member states.
2003
4 June 17, Tashkent, Created the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) [a special
2004 Uzbekistan office to combat terrorism].
5 July 5, 2005 Astana, Invited more countries as observers; requested a U.S. timeline for
Kazakhstan withdrawing military bases from Central Asia; India and Pakistan
joined as observers.
6 June 15, Shanghai, China Enhanced business and economic cooperation among members.
2006
7 August 16, Bishkek, Focused on regional safety and energy cooperation; conducted joint
2007 Kyrgyzstan counter-terrorism exercises [military drills to fight terrorism].
8 August 28, Dushanbe, Discussed global financial policies [world money systems].
2008 Tajikistan
9 June 15–16, Yekaterinburg, China pledged a $10 billion loan to support member states.
2009 Russia
10 June 10–11, Tashkent, Strengthened relationships with observer states and dialogue partners.
2010 Uzbekistan
11 June 14–15, Astana, Focused on maintaining regional stability [keeping the area peaceful
2011 Kazakhstan and secure].
12 June 6–7, Beijing, China Boosted cooperation in multiple areas, including trade and security.
2012
13 September Bishkek, Addressed business development and regional safety concerns.
13, 2013 Kyrgyzstan
14 September Dushanbe, Discussed collaboration with the CSTO [Collective Security Treaty
11–12, 2014 Tajikistan Organization, a military alliance].
15 July 9–10, Ufa, Russia Agreed to admit India and Pakistan as full members; began the
2015 expansion process.
16 June 23–24, Tashkent, India and Pakistan signed documents to start the process of becoming
2016 Uzbekistan full members.
17 June 8–9, Astana, India and Pakistan officially became full members, expanding the
2017 Kazakhstan SCO to eight members.
18 June 9–10, Qingdao, China Strengthened economic ties among member states.
2018
19 June 14–15, Bishkek, Discussed using local currencies for trade [money of member
 2019 Kyrgyzstan countries instead of global currencies like the U.S. dollar].
20 November Video call Held virtually due to COVID-19 [a global health crisis]; focused on
10, 2020 hosted by Russia pandemic cooperation, economic recovery, and digital connectivity
[using technology for better communication].
21 September Dushanbe, Discussed the Afghanistan crisis after U.S. withdrawal; initiated
16–17, 2021 Tajikistan Iran’s admission process; emphasized regional safety.
22 September Samarkand, Focused on energy, trade, and regional security; Iran signed
15–16, 2022 Uzbekistan documents to become a full member.
23 July 4, 2023 Video call Admitted Iran as a full member; Belarus signed a memorandum for
hosted by India membership; emphasized a multipolar world order [a global system
where multiple countries share power], counter-terrorism, and
regional cooperation.
24 July 3–4, Astana, Belarus became the 10th full member; discussed the Ukraine war,
2024 Kazakhstan Middle East tensions, energy security, and expanding economic
corridors [trade and transport routes], especially China’s BRI [Belt
and Road Initiative, a Chinese plan for global infrastructure].and they
called for a multipolar world order [a system where many countries share
power, not just one]
25 August 31– Tianjin, China Ongoing summit, the largest ever, with plans for the SCO’s next
September decade of development.
1, 2025

Structure of the SCO

Category Countries / Organs Notes
Full Members China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Core decision-
(10) Pakistan, Iran (2023), Belarus (2024) making members
Observer Afghanistan, Mongolia Participate but not
States (2) full members
Dialogue Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Egypt, Nepal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Engage in limited
Partners (14) Lanka, Turkey, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar cooperation
Official - Council of Heads of State (highest decision-making body) Provide
Organs of - Council of Heads of Government (prime ministers – economy, trade, institutional
SCO cooperation) framework
- Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (coordinates activities)
- Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) (based in Tashkent,
Uzbekistan)
- SCO Secretariat (based in Beijing, China)
Key Focus Security (counter-terrorism, extremism, separatism), Economic
Areas cooperation, Cultural exchanges, Connectivity projects

As of September 1, 2025, the SCO has 10 full member countries: Belarus, China, India, Iran,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. There are also observer
states [countries that watch but don't fully join] like Afghanistan, Mongolia, and others, plus
dialogue partners [countries that talk and cooperate closely] such as Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Turkey. The group is holding its 2025 summit right now in
Tianjin, China, from August 31 to September 1. Many leaders are there, including China's Xi
Jinping, India's Narendra Modi, Russia's Vladimir Putin, Iran's Masoud Pezeshkian, Pakistan's
Shehbaz Sharif, Belarus's Alexander Lukashenko, Kazakhstan's Kassym-Jomart Tokayev,
Uzbekistan's Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Kyrgyzstan's Sadyr Japarov, and Tajikistan's Emomali
Rahmon. Also attending are leaders from other places like Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
Myanmar's Min Aung Hlaing, Nepal's K P Sharma Oli, Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto,
Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim, the Maldives' Mohamed Muizzu, UN Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres, and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn—over 20 foreign leaders and 10 heads
of global groups in total. This makes it the largest SCO meeting ever. At the summit, China's Xi
Jinping called for creating an SCO development bank [a special bank to help with money for
projects] and new ways to finance mining critical minerals [important materials like rare earths
used in tech]. He talked about the world being chaotic [messy and unstable] and said members
should respect differences and communicate strategically [plan talks carefully]. India's Modi
spoke about three main ideas for SCO: security (fighting terrorism without excuses, like stopping
countries that support it), connectivity (building links like roads but respecting borders so no one
feels ignored), and opportunity (sharing cultures through a new forum for dialogues on old
civilizations, art, and traditions). He also pushed for changes in the UN [United Nations, a global
group for peace]. The summit is important because it shows the SCO challenging U.S.
leadership, especially with tensions like U.S. tariffs [extra taxes on goods] on Indian products at
50 percent under Trump, pushing countries to work more with China and Russia. It covers talks
on safety, trade, and world problems like wars in Ukraine and Gaza, but the group has limits—
like unclear goals, low public awareness, and divisions, such as India not signing some
statements due to issues with Pakistan over terrorism. The SCO represents 43 percent of the
world's people and 23 percent of the global economy, aiming for a stable Global South
[developing countries in Asia, Africa, etc.] against Western influence, but its real power is still
debated as it grows beyond just talks into real actions like more trade and rail links.

For more details on the SCO, it has a structure with main parts like the Council of Heads of State
(top leaders meet yearly), Council of Heads of Government (prime ministers handle business),
and other groups for foreign ministers, defense, and more. Its objectives [main goals] are to build
trust, cooperate on politics, trade, science, culture, education, energy, transport, tourism,
environment, and fight terrorism, separatism [groups wanting to split from countries], and
extremism [extreme harmful ideas]. Activities include joint military exercises [practice drills for
armies], sharing info on threats through RATS, economic projects like loans and infrastructure
[buildings and systems like roads], and cultural exchanges. Recently, it focuses on a multipolar
world, helping sanctioned [punished by bans] members like Iran and Belarus, and planning for
the future like in the 2025 summit blueprint [plan] for the next 10