The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conducted its 25th meeting of the Council of Heads of State, at Tianjin, in China. It began on August 31, 2025, and ended on September 1, 2025. Among the important delegates of member countries and other notable guests, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi attended the meeting. It was the largest-ever gathering of the SCO, with more than 20 heads of state participating in the summit.
The summit was focused on themes like Upholding the Shanghai Spirit: SCO on the Move, emphasising on security, connectivity, and opportunity.
During the summit, the participants deliberated on varied aspects, such as sustainable development, reforming global governance, peace and security, counter-terrorism, the SCO development strategy, and economic and financial cooperation.
The chairmanship for 2025-26 passed to the Kyrgyz Republic. The head of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, named the theme of the Kyrgyz chairmanship as 25 years of the SCO: together for a stable world, development, and prosperity.
About SCO
Headquartered in Beijing, China, the organisation was evolved in the year 1996 from the Shanghai 5 group. At that time, the group included only five countries, namely, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. The purpose of this organisation was to provide stability and security in Central Asia. With time, the need to have a more formal organisation arose. So, in 2001, the official meeting of the group was conducted at Shanghai. Hence, it was renamed as ‘Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’ (SCO). At that time, Uzbekistan also joined the organisation.
Currently, there are 10 member countries, two observer states (i.e., Afghanistan and Mongolia), and 15 dialogue partners, with Laos being the latest dialogue partner. The 10 member countries include earlier six countries along with India, Belarus, Iran, and Pakistan.
The SCO consists of two permanent bodies, namely, Secretariat in Beijing and the Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS). The headquarters of RATS is in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The objective of RATS is to address the three global issues, i.e., terrorism, extremism, and separatism.
Significance of the Summit
The main objective of the SCO includes cooperation among member countries as well as other countries of the world, along with supporting each other mutually in different fields, such as energy, transportation, investment, education, health, trade, and security. The SCO focuses on mutual benefit, mutual trust, mutual consultation, equality, pursuing common development, and respecting cultural diversity among the members.
The key agendas for the meeting included trade, regional security, geopolitical alignments, etc. The summit holds great significance in the wake of changing global dynamics, such as frequent trade and energy discussions and US-China relations.
Do You Know?
The SCO is the largest regional cooperation, with 40 per cent of the total world population and 60 per cent of total landmass of Eurasia. Thus, SCO summits are very significant.
Some Highlights of the Summit
- During the SCO Summit 2025, the plenary session was addressed by Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi. Addresses were also delivered by Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, and Xi Jinping, the Chinese president.
- Modi visited China after seven years and met President Xi Jinping. This indicated India’s intention to restore relations with China. A bilateral meeting was conducted between the two leaders. The meeting was aimed at strengthening the bond between the two nations, with mutual trust and respect as the basis of this relationship. Besides, the need for border peace was one of the important agendas of the meeting.
The meeting was an expansion of their earlier discussion held during the BRICS Summit 2024 in Kazan. - Regional conflicts and non-proliferation were brought to light.
- It was decided that no double standards would be accepted in counter- terrorism efforts.
- Global cooperation and its importance were stressed upon by the world leaders so that cross-border movement of terrorists could be prevented.
- The terrorist attack in Pahalgam region of Jammu and Kashmir was formally condemned by the leaders in the joint declaration. Besides, military strikes carried out on Iran by Israel in conjunction with the United States were also condemned.
- The setting up of an SCO Development Bank was proposed by some member countries. This is considered a remarkable move in reducing the dependency on the US dollar. It would provide an alternative method of payment to the members and would make the Chinese president an ‘architect’ of framework for global governance, headed by China.
- PM Modi said, India is looking for more support in three areas, namely, Connectivity, Security, and Opportunity. This would deepen India’s cooperation within the framework of SCO. He also suggested that a Civilisational Dialogue Forum should be formed within the organisation so as to enhance people’s connection and cultural understanding with each other.
Major Bilateral Meetings
Some of the critical bilateral meetings conducted during the summit are as follows:
- India-China Meeting: A bilateral meeting between Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, and Chinese president, Xi Jinping, was conducted for a period of 40 minutes. Both expressed their wish to be partners and not rivals and that they would enhance cooperation. Modi said, India seeks to deepen bilateral ties with China. These ties would be established on the basis of trust, sensitivity, and respect. After the disengagement of the troops, peace and stability have been maintained between the two nations owing to improved border management carried out by their special representatives. It was declared that India and China would again resume direct flights soon for their convenience. India-China relations influence the welfare of the citizens of the two nations, so mutual cooperation between them is vital. This reconcilement between the two nations is partly backed by the pressure of high US tariffs.
Interesting Fact!
The term ‘Dragon-Elephant Diplomacy’ has been coined to indicate China-India bilateral relations. Both the countries need to work together in collaboration to become world leaders and not rivals.
- India-Myanmar Meeting: PM Modi had a meeting with the General of Myanmar, Min Aung Hlaing. During the meeting, Modi said, Myanmar has full support of India for elections that are going to be conducted with fairness and inclusivity in Myanmar, enabling all stakeholders to participate. They also discussed other aspects of India-Myanmar ties, including border management and defence cooperation. Modi asserted that India is committed to Myanmar-owned and Myanmar-led peace process, which needs to be carried out via peaceful dialogue and consultation. He further opined that India’s ties with Myanmar are important, as they are in accordance with its Neighbourhood First, Act East, and Indo-Pacific policies.
- India-Russia Meeting: PM Modi and Vladimir Putin deliberated on how they can strengthen bilateral ties with each other in varied fields, such as security, trade, space, fertilisers, and culture. They shared their viewpoints related to recent developments taking place both globally and regionally, such as addressing the conflict in Ukraine with peaceful resolution. Modi emphasised that in order to maintain stability within regions and across the world, their special and privileged strategic partnership plays a vital role.
Modi acknowledged that India and Russia have constantly supported each other during the most difficult times. He also noted that their ties play a significant role in enhancing global peace, prosperity, and stability. The Russian president emphasised the importance of the SCO in bringing together the countries of the Global South and East. He asserted that the meeting would further strengthen the India-Russia ties.
India’s Stance on Terrorism
Modi said, India has zero tolerance for terrorism. As progress and prosperity are possible only with stability, peace, and security, he urged the member countries that they must take strict measures against terrorism in all forms. He highlighted that coordinated effort of all members is required to ban terror financing and radicalisation. He expressed gratitude to all member countries for supporting India against Pahalgam terror attack. He objected to the double standards of some countries in relation to terrorism. He demanded that state-sponsored terrorism should be held accountable. He further suggested that joint counter-terrorism activities should be conducted to completely eradicate terrorism from all parts of the world.
The Roadmap for Artificial Intelligence Partnership
At the end of the summit, SCO members signed the Tianjin Declaration. One of the most important commitments in the Declaration was to deepen cooperation related to artificial intelligence (AI). It laid emphasis on equality between the countries in terms of developing and using AI. That is, all the member countries would be given equal rights for employing AI. Earlier, at AI conference held in Shanghai, it was proposed to set up a unit that would facilitate the regulation of rapidly growing AI technology by synchronising global efforts.
Cooperation, on the part of SCO members, is required for risk reduction and security enhancement purposes as well as for being accountable for using AI only for the welfare of humankind. Thus, they gave their commitment for the same, and also agreed to execute a roadmap for cooperation and development in the field of AI.
Conclusion
To conclude, SCO members seemed to have better relationship with each other at a time when the world is facing the brunt of unreasonable trade policies and tariffs imposed by the US government. Attended by several non-Western countries, the summit reflected Beijing’s intention of creating a new economic order and global security, which may threaten the US diplomacy. Beijing seeks collective cooperation from SCO members with the aim of developing a fair and just framework for global governance.
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