At Bishkek summit, SCO leaders look to deepen ties and reshape a post-Western order
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is marking a milestone in Kyrgyzstan this week as leaders from 21 countries gather in Bishkek for a two-day summit that has become a focal point for the ambitions of a rapidly shifting Eurasian order. The annual meeting, which opened Monday, comes as the SCO celebrates its 25th anniversary under the theme “Together for sustainable peace, development and prosperity” — a signal of the bloc’s intent to project itself as a pillar of multipolarity.
Hosted by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, the summit brings together the leaders of all 10 SCO member states — China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Belarus — along with representatives from more than a dozen other countries attending as dialogue partners or guests, including Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Vietnam, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Together, the bloc speaks for more than 40 percent of the world’s population.
What began after the Soviet collapse as a regional forum for border security has evolved into a sprawling vehicle for political, economic and security cooperation. In recent years, the SCO has increasingly framed itself as an alternative to Western-led institutions, and this year’s agenda reflects that ambition: discussions are focused on establishing a long-promised development bank and an investment fund, expanding energy and transport corridors, and addressing what the bloc calls the defining challenges of the Global South.
The backdrop is unusually tense. Russia’s war in Ukraine and ongoing conflict involving Iran have strained global supply chains and sharpened competition for influence across Central Asia. The summit is giving leaders room for a series of bilateral meetings that go well beyond the formal agenda. China’s Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are both in Bishkek, as are Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, along with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
On Monday, Xi and Japarov signed a treaty committing the two countries to “eternal good-neighbourliness, friendship and cooperation,” a step the Kyrgyz presidency described as cementing a comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era. Xi called the relationship a “golden period” of development. Japarov also held a flurry of bilateral talks with Guterres, Modi, Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith, Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe, Vietnamese Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan and Pezeshkian.
China’s economic push across Central Asia is accelerating. Major infrastructure projects, including the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, are designed to shorten trade routes linking Asia, the Middle East and southern Europe. For Uzbekistan, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev arrived in Bishkek carrying a separate initiative: the Trans-Afghan Corridor, which aims to connect Central Asian infrastructure to Afghan ports and the Indian Ocean.
The summit also provided a venue for regional diplomacy. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met for a new round of peace talks, discussing next steps in their long-fractured relationship and possible cooperation on trade and energy, including Middle Corridor projects. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev used the occasion to meet Aliyev for talks on joint investments.
Putin is expected to hold a series of high-stakes meetings on the sidelines, including with Erdoğan on the war in Ukraine and Black Sea security, with Pezeshkian on Iran’s military standoff with the United States and Israel, and with Pashinyan after Moscow warned against Yerevan’s newly announced intention to apply for EU membership. The Russian leader arrives as the faltering economy and the long war weigh on the Kremlin, making the SCO a key stage for Moscow to reaffirm its global relevance.
With the United States and the European Union increasingly active in Central Asia, the Bishkek summit reflects a broader competition for influence in a region long seen as a strategic bridge. The SCO’s growing membership and expanding list of partners suggests that the era of a unipolar world is giving way to a more fragmented, multipolar landscape — one in which smaller states are also seeking stronger positions. The question now is whether the bloc can turn rhetorical ambition into concrete institutions and lasting cooperation.