25th Council of Heads of SCO Member States and SCO Plus Meeting, Tianjin

25th Council of Heads of SCO Member States and SCO Plus Meeting, Tianjin

Analysis

• The 25th meeting of the Council of Heads of State (CHS) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was held on 1 September 2025 at the Meijiang International Convention and Exhibition Center, Tianjin, under the chairmanship of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
• The meeting was attended by the Heads of State/Government of Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, along with the SCO Secretary-General and the Director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS).
• Discussions covered the entire spectrum of SCO cooperation, including:
  • Political and security cooperation
  • Trade, investment, energy, and industry
  • Sustainable development and new technologies
  • International and regional issues
  • Institutional strengthening and improvement of SCO functioning
• The SCO Secretary-General, Nurlan Yermekbayev, appreciated the outcomes of the Chinese chairmanship (2024–2025), conducted under the theme “Advancing the Shanghai Spirit: SCO in Action.”
  • He proposed building a coherent organisational structure, enhancing investment and trade incentives, and strengthening humanitarian exchanges.
• Emphasis was placed on proposals by the incoming chair, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, including:
  • Creation of an SCO Disaster Assistance Fund/Mechanism
  • Addressing water-related issues
  • Ensuring effective implementation of leaders’ decisions to improve the practical impact of ministerial-level cooperation
• Key outcomes of the Tianjin Summit:
  • Approval of 24 documents, including:
    • Tianjin Declaration
    • SCO Development Strategy until 2035
    • Statement on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the formation of the United Nations
    • Several thematic statements
  • Signing of agreements on:
    • Establishment of an SCO Anti-Drug Center
    • Creation of a Universal Center for Countering Challenges and Threats to SCO Security
  • Launch ceremonies for the above centres were conducted.
• Expansion and institutional decisions:
  • Lao People’s Democratic Republic granted SCO Dialogue Partner status
  • Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) granted SCO Observer status
  • Cholpon-Ata (Kyrgyzstan) designated as “Tourist and Cultural Capital of the SCO” for 2025–2026
• The meeting marked the conclusion of China’s chairmanship (2024–2025) and the transfer of chairmanship to the Kyrgyz Republic (2025–2026).
  • The theme of the Kyrgyz chairmanship was announced as “25 years of the SCO: together for a stable world, development, and prosperity.”
• Following the CHS meeting, an SCO Plus Meeting was held on the theme “Turning Multilateralism into Action, Ensuring Regional Security, and Promoting Sustainable Development.”
  • Participants included SCO member states, observer state Mongolia, dialogue partners, invited countries, and heads of international and regional organisations such as UN, CIS, ASEAN, CSTO, EEC, CICA, ECO, and AIIB.

Necessary Static Part

• Organisation: Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
• Established: 2001
• Nature: Permanent intergovernmental regional organisation
• Supreme Decision-Making Body: Council of Heads of State (CHS)
• Core Areas: Security cooperation, counter-terrorism, economic cooperation, connectivity, humanitarian and cultural exchanges
• Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS): Key security coordination mechanism of the SCO

Updated – 01 September 2025; 12:30 AM | News Source: Shanghai Cooperation Organisation – Official Website