On June 15, 2001, in Shanghai, the leaders of Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan announced the creation of a new international Eurasian organization – the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. In 2017, India and Pakistan became full members of the Organization. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia are accredited as observer States to the Organization, while Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey have the status of dialogue partners. In total, there are about 30 Eurasian states in the SCO orbit.

By its 20th anniversary, the SCO has proved its viability and has become an influential participant in the modern system of international relations. The Organization consists of four nuclear-weapon states, two permanent members of the UN Security Council. About half of humanity lives in the SCO countries, they occupy 60% of the territory of Eurasia and produce about a third of the world’s GDP.

Today, the SCO can be described as an international organization of general competence with a focus on issues of ensuring security and maintaining peace in the region. One of the key priorities of the Organization’s activities is comprehensive work on countering terrorism.

Within the framework of the SCO, a comprehensive regulatory and legal framework has been formed to improve the interaction of the member states in the fight against terrorism, separatism, extremism and drug trafficking. Modern methods of combating new threats to international security are constantly being improved. The SCO countries have established close practical cooperation with relevant UN structures, in particular, with the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the UN Security Council, Interpol, the OSCE, as well as the CSTO and the CIS Anti-Terrorism Center.

In recent years, the SCO has become an increasingly economically oriented organization. The program of multilateral trade and economic cooperation of the SCO member states opens the way to establishing multi-sectoral relations based on digitalization and high technologies. A plan for the implementation of the SCO Cooperation Program in the field of food security is being developed. New dialogue platforms and interaction formats have been launched, such as the Forum of the Heads of the SCO Regions and the inter-party forum “SCO+”.

Cooperation with UN agencies has significantly increased, aimed at improving the Organization’s capacity in the field of transport logistics, digital technologies, health and agriculture. At the same time, close contacts are maintained with the leading partner associations in the Eurasian space, including the EEU, CSTO, CIS and ASEAN. The possibility of formalizing ties with the League of Arab States is being explored.

The SCO’s synergistic potential was clearly demonstrated in the course of countering the coronavirus pandemic that hit the planet. The SCO member states have shown a high level of solidarity and mutual assistance, demonstrating an example of equal and mutually beneficial partnership. The leaders of the Organization called on the world community not to politicize issues related to the pandemic, and to make the COVID-19 vaccines the universal property of mankind.

The SCO countries supported the idea of creating a single network of medical institutions to combat epidemiological diseases in the common space. Thus, the relevance of the Organization as an effective platform for developing collective measures to overcome the epidemiological, political and socio-economic consequences of the pandemic on the basis of the principles of the “Shanghai spirit” has significantly strengthened.

The project “SCO-our common home” is gaining momentum, aimed at strengthening cultural and humanitarian ties between the countries of the “SCO family”, getting acquainted with the traditions and customs of our states, and developing a dialogue of civilizations. The goal of the project is similar in many ways to the purpose of the Great Silk Road, which for centuries has served the friendship of peoples, the exchange of knowledge and the mutual enrichment of cultures. This grandiose trade and cultural artery, stretching from China to Europe and Africa, running through Central Asia and Russia, is the core of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The “Eight Wonders of the SCO” project has become an important platform for the development of inter-civilizational dialogue between our countries. In accordance with the project, each country has proposed one of its national attractions for priority visits, which will become part of the SCO common tourist space. We have a lot to offer tourists – there are 143 UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the vast territory of the Organization’s states.

It is quite obvious that in a relatively short period of time, the SCO has become an authoritative integration association capable of solving global problems. The enormous resources of the participating countries, the growth rates of their economies, their military capabilities, as well as the successes achieved in building a new type of international relations that represent an alternative to the unipolar world order with its protectionist and sanctions mechanisms, inspire confidence in the prospects for further development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization for the benefit of peace and prosperity of our peoples.