SCO Summit Concludes in Bishkek, Hands Chairmanship to Pakistan

Bishkek (GNP): The 26th meeting of the Council of Heads of State (CHS) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) concluded on 1 September 2026 at the Yrys-Ordo Congress Hall in Bishkek, chaired by President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov.

The summit brought together President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, President of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif, President of Russia Vladimir Putin, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, alongside SCO Secretary General Nurlan Yermekbayev and Executive Committee Director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure Ularbek Sharsheev. Discussions spanned politics, security, trade, investment, energy, industry, ecology, tourism, and new technologies, with leaders putting forward proposals to advance cooperation across the Organisation.

Addressing the summit, Secretary General Nurlan Yermekbayev credited the Kyrgyz Republic’s chairmanship for its practical and substantive direction, noting that the Organisation had sustained common positions and mutual trust despite a difficult global environment.

He pointed to closer engagement with international bodies as a key outcome of the year, citing the approved SCO-CSTO-CIS roadmap, the first trilateral event held under that framework, and the SCO’s new observer status at the CIS.

He also referenced expanded cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Commission, the UN Environment Programme, and the League of Arab States, along with a memorandum signed with the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre.

Following these discussions, member states approved 28 documents, among them the Bishkek Declaration, amendments to the SCO Charter, and a statement on assisting states affected by emergencies. Leaders also agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding between the SCO Secretariat and the African Union Commission, and approved provisions establishing the Universal Centre for Countering Challenges and Threats to the Security of SCO Member States, along with the Executive Committee of the SCO Anti-Drug Centre.

The summit marked the close of Kyrgyzstan’s 2025-2026 chairmanship, held under the theme “25 Years of the SCO: Together for Sustainable Peace, Development and Prosperity.”

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Pakistan formally assumed the chairmanship for 2026-2027, framing its tenure around the theme “Turning Vision into Action: Connectivity, Innovation and Shared Prosperity.” As part of the handover, the city of Lahore was named the SCO Tourism and Cultural Capital for 2026-2027.

Alongside the CHS meeting, an “SCO Plus” session was held under the theme “The UN as a Key Element of a Just World Order,” examining the role of SCO Plus states in shaping a multipolar world. The session included observer state Mongolia, dialogue partners Azerbaijan, Armenia, Egypt, Laos, and Turkey, and guest states Vietnam and Togo, along with representatives of the EAEU, CSTO, UN, CICA, and CIS. The proceedings closed with a joint press briefing by Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubayev and SCO Secretary General Nurlan Yermekbayev.

Nurlan Yermekbayev said, “The Organisation manages to develop common positions and maintain its peace-loving, non-bloc character despite challenging conditions.”