Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a Eurasian political, economic and international security organisation of ten member states. It focuses on political, economic, security and counter-terrorism cooperation.
It is the world's largest regional organisation in terms of geographic scope and population, covering at least 24% of the world's total area and 42% of the world population. As of 2024, its combined nominal GDP accounts for around 23%, while its GDP based on PPP comprises approximately 36% of the world's total.
The SCO is the successor to the Shanghai Five, formed in 1996 between China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. In June 2001, the leaders of these nations and Uzbekistan met in Shanghai to announce the SCO, a new organisation with deeper political and economic cooperation. In June 2017, it expanded to eight states, with India and Pakistan. Iran joined the group in July 2023, and Belarus in July 2024. Several countries are engaged as observers or dialogue partners. Its most recent meeting was held in September 2025 in Tianjin, China.
The SCO is governed by the Heads of State Council, its supreme decision-making body, which meets once a year. The organisation also contains the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure.

Origins

The Shanghai Five

The Shanghai Five group was created on 26 April 1996 when the heads of states of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan signed the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions in Shanghai.
On 24 April 1997 the same countries signed the Treaty on Reduction of Military Forces in Border Regions in a meeting in Moscow, Russia. On 20 May 1997, Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Chinese leader Jiang Zemin signed a declaration on a "multipolar world".
Subsequent annual summits of the Shanghai Five group occurred in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 1998, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in 1999, and in Dushanbe, Tajikistan in 2000. At the Dushanbe summit, members agreed to "oppose intervention in other countries' internal affairs on the reason of 'humanitarianism' and 'protecting human rights;' and support the efforts of one another in safeguarding the five countries' national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and social stability." The Shanghai Five structure helped speed up the members' resolution of border disputes, agree on military deployments in border areas, and address security threats.

Developing institutional forms

In 2001, the annual summit returned to Shanghai and the group was institutionalised. The five member nations first admitted Uzbekistan in the Shanghai Five mechanism. On 15 June 2001, all six heads of state signed the Declaration of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, praising the role played thus far by the Shanghai Five mechanism and aiming to transform it to a higher level of cooperation. From 2001 to 2008, the SCO developed rapidly, establishing a number of permanent bodies and ad hoc initiatives dealing with economic and security matters.
In June 2002, the heads of the SCO member states met in Saint Petersburg, Russia and signed the SCO Charter which expounded on the organisation's purposes, principles, structures and forms of operation. It entered into force on 19 September 2003. By 2003, a Council of Heads of State, a Council of Heads of Government and a Council of Foreign Ministers, as well as a permanent Secretariat based in Beijing was formed.
In July 2005, at the summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, with representatives of India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan attending an SCO summit for the first time, Nursultan Nazarbayev, the president of the Kazakhstan, greeted the guests in words that had never been used before in any context: "The leaders of the states sitting at this negotiation table are representatives of half of humanity". By 2007, the SCO had initiated over twenty large-scale projects related to transportation, energy and telecommunications and held regular meetings of security, military, defence, foreign affairs, economic, cultural, banking, and other officials from its member states.
In July 2015, in Ufa, Russia, the SCO decided to admit India and Pakistan as full members. In June 2016 in Tashkent, both signed the memorandum of obligations, thereby starting the process of joining the SCO. In June 2017, at a summit in Kazakhstan, India and Pakistan officially joined SCO as full members.
In 2004, the SCO established relations with the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Independent States in 2005, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2005, the Collective Security Treaty Organization in 2007, the Economic Cooperation Organization in 2007, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in 2011, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia in 2014, and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in 2015. in 2018, SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure has established relations with the African Union's African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism.

Organisational structure

As of 2020, the Council of Heads of State was the top decision-making body in the SCO, meeting at the annual SCO summits in one of the member states' capital cities. Because of their government structure, the prime ministers of the parliamentary democracies of India and Pakistan attend the SCO Council of Heads of State summits, as their responsibilities are similar to the presidents of other SCO nations.
As of the 1 September 2025 meeting, the Council of Heads of State consists of:

The Council of Heads of Government is the second-highest council in the organisation. This council also holds annual summits, at which time members discuss issues of multilateral cooperation and approves the organisation's budget. As of the 1 November 2022 meeting, Council of Heads of Government consists of:

As of 2007, the Council of Foreign Ministers also held regular meetings, where they discussed the current international situation and interaction with other international organisations. As of 2021, the Council of National Coordinators coordinated the multilateral cooperation of member states within the framework of the SCO's charter.

Years in office

Name

15 June 2004 – 2006

Membership

Member states

Country

Accession started

Member since

Chinaefn|China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan were members of the Shanghai Five mechanism since 26 April 1996. Uzbekistan was included in the Shanghai Five mechanism on 14 June 2001. The six states then signed a declaration establishing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on 15 June 2001.

SCO partners

Current and former observer states

Current and former dialogue partners

The status of dialogue partner was created in 2008.

Guest attendees

Multiple international organisations and one country are guest attendances to SCO summits.

Organisation

Organisation Type

First Meeting Attended

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Future membership possibilities

Suspected fears about new members weaking the organisation have stalled the addition of members over its existence. Instead, countries are added to various categoriesobservers, guests, and dialogue partnersto allow them to participate at summits.

List of potential observers, guests, or dialogue partners

Countries showing interest in joining the SCO

Turkey

In 2010, the SCO approved a procedure for admitting new members. In 2011, Turkey applied for dialogue partner status, which it obtained in 2013. At the same time, Turkey is a NATO member and the European Union candidate country. Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has stated that he has discussed the possibility of abandoning Turkey's candidacy of accession to the European Union in return for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. This was reinforced again on 21 November 2016, after the European Parliament voted unanimously to suspend accession negotiations with Turkey. Two days later, on 23 November 2016, Turkey was granted the chairmanship of SCO energy club for the 2017 period. That made Turkey the first country to chair a club in the organisation without full membership status. In 2022, at the 22nd summit of the SCO, the Turkish president said that Turkey would seek full SCO membership status. On 11 July 2024, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated in a statement to the U.S. Newsweek magazine that they did not consider Turkey's membership in NATO as an alternative to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS.

Vietnam

In 2011, Vietnam expressed interest in obtaining observer status. Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh attended the largest-ever Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in history in Tianjian from August 31 to September 1, 2025.

Ukraine

In 2012, Ukraine expressed interest in obtaining observer status. However, since the deposition of President Viktor Yanukovych and increased tensions with Russia, no application has been submitted and there are no current plans to incorporate Ukraine into the organisation.

Azerbaijan

expects to receive observer status according to Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada. Azerbaijan will probably become a full member of the SCO in a little while, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said during his meeting with President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on 3 July 2024 in Astana.