The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) gathered in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, on July 3-4 for its 24th annual leaders’ summit. After a virtual affair in 2023, the in-person summit is closely watched as Belarus made it a 10-member organization.
The 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member nations, titled “Strengthening Multilateral Dialogue – Striving Towards a Sustainable Peace and Prosperity,” kicked off in Astana on Thursday with Belarus officially becoming a member of the association.
Media reports say the summit began with an official ceremony where all relevant documents for the country's membership were signed.
“Dear heads of state, a decision on the full membership of the Republic of Belarus in the SCO has been made," Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced, congratulating Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Lukashenko, in turn, noted that Minsk will strive to expand the SCO's influence and broaden its circle of allies and supporters.
The Astana Times reported today morning that the summit will see the adoption of the Astana Declaration, 20 resolutions, and three statements from the Heads of State, including the Initiative On World Unity for Just Peace and Harmony, and On SCO Improvement.
Xinhua says the SCO summit is currently being held in Astana, with attendance by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, India, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye and Turkmenistan, and the SCO Secretary-General and the Executive Director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure.
Meanwhile, Dr. Eva Seiwert, an analyst and project coordinator at the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS), considers that Belarus’ admission to the SCO moves the association further away from its original regional mission.
“Belarus’ admission to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) shows that the once purely regional grouping – originally encompassing China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan – is steadily expanding its geographic and geopolitical reach. After India and Pakistan in 2017 and Iran in 2023, Belarus is the first exclusively European country to join,” Dr. Seiwert said, noting that the SCO’s shifting focus aligns most obviously with China and Russia’s evolving interests in the organization.
Thus, the SCO now has ten full members – Belarus, China, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, India, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Besides, Mongolia is an observer state.
SCO’s dialogue partners include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cambodia, Egypt, Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Turkiye and United Arab Emirates.
ACEAN, CIS, Turkmenistan and the United Nations are guest attendances.
Inactive: Afghanistan.
