The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin was a landmark event marking a tectonic shift in the existing international order in the context of emerging realignments among groups of nations. Formed as a security cooperation group over two decades ago, the SCO has evolved into a multilateral forum for trade and economic development with a strong focus on strengthening the unity of the Global South.
Described as ‘SCO-Plus’, the conference was attended by more than 20 heads of state and government, as well as leaders of international organisations. The SCO comprises China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus, with 16 more countries affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners.” The organisation covers approximately 24 per cent of global land area and 42pc of the world’s population, with member states accounting for roughly one-quarter of global GDP. China’s trade with SCO members, observers and dialogue partners totalled $890 billion in 2024 or 14.4pc of its total foreign trade.
The annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin signalled, among other things, a closing of ranks among its members at a time of quickly shifting relations on the global chessboard. The two-day event ended with a joint declaration, pledging a deepened strategic alliance in the Global South and advocating ‘fairness over dominance’ and a commitment to maintaining an open global economy. The Tianjin Declaration said: “The member states, while reaffirming their firm commitment to the fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism, stress the inadmissibility of attempts to use terrorist, separatist and extremist groups for mercenary purposes. They recognise the leading role of sovereign states and their competent authorities in countering terrorist and extremist threats.”
The declaration said the SCO members were committed to ensuring sustainable international peace and called for joint efforts to counter traditional and new security challenges and threats. They also signed the Agreement on the Universal Centre for Countering Challenges and Threats to the Security of SCO Member States and the Agreement on the SCO Anti-Drug Centre. The declaration said the SCO members would continue to actively implement the Programme of Cooperation of SCO Member States in Countering Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism for 2025-2027. The leaders further adopted a 10-year SCO Development Strategy until 2035, which “defines the priority tasks and main directions for deepening multifaceted cooperation in the interests of ensuring peace and stability, development and prosperity in the SCO space”.
Regarding the situation in the Middle East, the SCO leaders reiterated their deep concern over the continuing escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and strongly condemned actions that led to numerous casualties among the civilian population and a “catastrophic humanitarian situation” in the Gaza Strip. They stressed the need to ensure an immediate, complete and sustainable ceasefire, access to humanitarian aid, and intensified efforts to achieve peace, stability and security for all residents of the region. They also strongly condemned the military strikes by Israel and the United States against Iran in June, saying that such aggressive actions against civilian targets, including nuclear energy infrastructure, which resulted in the death of civilians, were a “gross violation of the principles and norms of international law and the UN Charter, and an infringement on the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
On Afghanistan, the SCO members reaffirmed their commitment to the country’s establishment as an independent, neutral and peaceful state, free from terrorism, war and drugs, and expressed their readiness to support the efforts of the international community to ensure peace and development in the country. The Tianjin Declaration of the SCO Council reaffirmed commitments to strengthen artificial intelligence cooperation, underscoring “equal rights of all countries to develop and use AI.” It pledged to cooperate on reducing risks and improving the security and accountability of AI for the benefits of humanity, while committing to implement a roadmap for joint AI cooperation and development.
Some member states agreed to set up an SCO development bank, what would be a significant step in the bloc’s long-standing goal of establishing an alternative payment system that reduces reliance on the US dollar. Beijing also pledged 2 billion yuan ($280 million) in free aid for member states this year and another 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) in loans to the organization’s members over the next three years.
Pakistan projected a strong presence at the Tianjin summit. It maintained top-level attendance and leveraged the SCO as a forum where it appears alongside major powers. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on the sidelines of the conference. He also held informal meetings with Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmenistan’s Serdar Berdimuhamedov, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.
It is a matter of satisfaction for Pakistan that SCO leaders “strongly condemned” the March 11 Jaffar Express hijacking and May 21 Khuzdar bombing in Pakistan, in addition to the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack. The condemnation of violence on Pakistani soil drew attention to Pakistan’s security concerns, underlining a broader international consensus against the terrorist activities of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir held high-level meetings on the sidelines of the SCO summit. The most important of these was with President Xi Jinping during which Beijing reaffirmed its commitment to building Pakistan’s military capabilities. Overall, Pakistan’s participation in the summit underlined Pakistan’s commitment to the SCO’s plans and objectives as well as reinforced its bilateral relations with China, Iran, and Russia and other member states.