Shanghai Cooperation Organization meets in Tashkent

BOFIT Viikkokatsaus / BOFIT Weekly Review 2016/26

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), founded in 2001, consists of Russia, China and four Central Asian countries (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan). The heads of the six member countries gathered for the annual SCO summit last week in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent. Ahead of the summit, many observers expected the SCO to grant full member status to India and Pakistan. The final summit communiqué, however, only noted that terms of membership had been agreed. Countries with observer status include India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Mongolia and Belarus. The summit also recognised Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia and Nepal as cooperation partners. The official languages of the SCO are Chinese and Russian.

The goal of the SCO is to promote inter-state cooperation in the political, economic and security spheres. The tangible achievements of the SCO to date have been quite modest. China’s focus is on deepening economic and energy cooperation, while Russia has sought to promote more the fight against terrorism and security issues.

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