Eurasian leaders gather in Bishkek for SCO summit, seeking new alliances
More than 20 world leaders are meeting in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek for the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. Talks focus on security, economic cooperation and new trade routes amid a shifting global order.
The annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) opened Monday in Bishkek, bringing together leaders and representatives from around 21 countries. Over two days, discussions are covering political, economic and security cooperation, a long-planned development bank, and trade and energy routes disrupted by ongoing conflicts.
The SCO's ten full members — China, India, Pakistan, Russia, Belarus, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan — together represent over 40% of the world's population. The bloc is increasingly presenting itself as an alternative to the Western-led global order, joined by leaders from at least 15 "dialogue partner" states including Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Marking its 25th anniversary this year, the organisation was originally founded after the Soviet collapse to address regional security concerns, but has since grown into a broader platform for trade, security and political cooperation.
Bilateral talks and new agreements
Among those attending are China's Xi Jinping, India's Narendra Modi, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Russia's Vladimir Putin, Iran's Masoud Pezeshkian, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Leaders also attended the opening of the World Nomad Games.
Host Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov signed a treaty on "eternal good-neighbourliness" with Xi, described by the Kyrgyz presidency as a comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era. Japarov also held separate talks with Guterres, Modi and several other leaders on Monday.
China continues expanding its economic footprint in Central Asia, advancing infrastructure projects such as the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev also promoted the Trans-Afghan Corridor at the summit.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a new round of peace talks in Bishkek, alongside discussions on trade and energy cooperation. Putin is expected to meet Erdoğan to discuss the war in Ukraine and Black Sea security, as well as Pezeshkian and Pashinyan.
