The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's anniversary summit in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital, concluded with the signing of 28 documents, the Kyrgyz president's press service reported.
The September 1 summit was chaired by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, who noted that SCO member states together account for more than 40 percent of the world's population and nearly a quarter of global GDP.
The organization currently comprises 10 member states: Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Leaders from all member states attended the summit, where they discussed establishing new security centers, expanding cooperation against drug trafficking, and issues related to digitalization, the environment and logistics.
The Bishkek Declaration, marking the SCO's 25th anniversary, served as the summit's principal political document. Heads of state also approved a protocol amending and supplementing the SCO Charter of June 7, 2002.
Other documents signed at the summit include:
- Charter establishing a universal center to counter threats and challenges to the security of SCO member states
- Charter for the executive committee of the organization's Anti-Drug Center, which will incorporate a new Center for Combating Transnational Organized Crime to be based in Bishkek
- Two counter-narcotics programs — one focused on combating drug addiction through 2030, the other coordinating measures against the spread of synthetic drugs and their precursors through 2030
- Cooperation plan among SCO states on international information security for 2026–2028
- Action plan for developing SCO countries' ports and logistics hubs for 2026–2030, along with other documents
During the summit, Kyrgyzstan handed over the organization's rotating chairmanship to Pakistan.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was founded in June 2001, when the leaders of Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan signed its founding declaration. By 2026, SCO membership had grown to 10 states. Afghanistan and Mongolia hold observer status, while 15 countries — Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Egypt, Cambodia, Qatar, Kuwait, Laos, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Sri Lanka — are recognized as SCO dialogue partners.
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