SCO viewed as pillar for joint development

As the Shanghai Cooperation Organization marks its 25th anniversary this year, its Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev highlighted the organization's contribution to peace, stability, and sustainable development across Eurasia and beyond in the past decades.

In an interview with China Daily, Yermekbayev said that amid increasingly turbulent international relations, the organization's experience in building a space of trust, good-neighborliness, and joint development on the basis of equal dialogue is gaining particular relevance.

Founded in June 2001 by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or SCO, has expanded into a community of 27 nations, with 10 core member states.

Yermekbayev emphasized that the SCO, now the largest transregional association globally, is instrumental in developing collective approaches to counter both conventional and emerging security challenges, strengthening trust among nations, and the fulfillment of the international obligations.

"The organization demonstrates that effective international cooperation may be built on finding accord, mutual benefit, and respect for diversity rather than on a bloc-type mindset and confrontation. This is the reason why the SCO is an important platform to shape new models of international relations based on the principles of justice, inclusivity, and multipolarity."

Initially founded as a cooperation body focused on strengthening transborder security, the SCO's scope has expanded significantly, now encompassing various areas of economic development, including agriculture, trade, and sustainable development, as well as sociocultural cooperation and many more.

Yermekbayev also highlighted that the potential of the 27 states within the SCO community serves as a significant driver of global growth. "Nearly half of the world's population is embraced by the organization. The aggregate GDP of its member states is currently accounting for a quarter of the global GDP."

The SCO's influence on the global economy is reflected in the diversification of supply chains, and the increase in the share of national currencies used in mutual transactions, he added.

In the past years, connectivity networks among the SCO member states have seen significant improvements, boosting regional trade. Nearly 14,000 kilometers of interstate road transport routes are now in operation.

According to the secretary-general, China, as one of the founding states and the host of the SCO Secretariat, has played a significant role in deepening practical cooperation within the organization while enhancing its strategic place in shaping a just and multipolar world.

"China has demonstrated a responsible approach to fulfilling its SCO commitments. During China's presidency in the organization in 2024-25, three cooperation platforms were established — in energy, green industry, and the digital economy — as well as three centers for scientific innovation, higher education, and vocational education."

Key priority

The secretary-general also pointed out sustainable development — particularly in the areas of climate, ecology, and biodiversity conservation — as one of the key priorities for SCO member states. The shared aspirations within the SCO framework do materialize into tangible bilateral projects, he said.

As Yermekbayev outlined, a notable example is the Kunming Biodiversity Fund, launched by China in Beijing in 2024. In 2025, the fund promoted biodiversity conservation projects across several SCO member states, including Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as in some SCO dialogue partners such as Cambodia, the Maldives, Nepal, Turkiye, and Sri Lanka.

Yermekbayev also underscored the role of the organization's member states in shaping a democratic, fair, and multipolar world.

In this context he noted the Global Governance Initiative's alignment with the principles of the Shanghai Spirit, as well as with similar efforts of other SCO member states, including Kazakhstan's initiative "On World Unity for a Just Peace, Harmony and Development" and the Russian-Belarusian initiative on building a security architecture in Eurasia and others.

He added that these similarities regarding global development, security and intercivilizational ties are designed to enhance peace and stability, promote sustainable development, expand humanitarian exchanges, and foster mutual understanding among nations.

These approaches, he said, are being put into practice through various projects and cooperation mechanisms within the SCO in the political, economic, cultural, and humanitarian fields.

The secretary-general noted efforts of the current SCO Chair.

"Today, we're seeing successful and effective chairmanship of the Kyrgyz Republic in the SCO with the upcoming SCO Summit in Bishkek this year set to be its keynote event. We're looking forward to the heads of member states coming together to reach consensus and make decisions on issues that will contribute to shaping the organization's future."

yangran1@chinadaily.com.cn