Sergey Saenko, international observer

As Bakhtiyor Khakimov, Special Representative of the President of Russia for SCO Affairs, recently stated in an interview with Russian journalists, Moscow has prepared a package of proposals to improve the activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO or the Organization). “Now work is underway to improve the activities of the SCO in accordance with the decision taken at the initiative of Russia by the leaders of the SCO member states at the summit last September in Samarkand,” Khakimov said. At the same time, he stressed that this is not about a radical transformation of the Organization, but about reformatting the already established mechanisms.

If we follow the words of Khakimov, then a study of more than twenty years of experience in the SCO has shown that, for example, the current practice of holding summits and high-level events does not fully meet the tasks set by the Organization. This gave rise to a common understanding of the need to think about how to organize the work correctly in such a way that external participants – SCO observers and partners in dialogue, as well as other interested countries, are effectively involved in joint practical activities. Bakhtiyor Khakimov did not disclose the details of the package of proposals developed by Russia, but one must think that soon we will learn more about the measures proposed by Moscow to improve the work of the SCO.

It should be noted that a new look at the Organization and its activities is especially important in the context of growing attention to it by the international community. It is no coincidence that the number of applications for joining the SCO in one form or another is growing. Recall that today its members are eight states: India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. But soon they will be joined by Iran and Belarus, which, together with Afghanistan and Mongolia, are still officially SCO observer countries. The partner countries of the Organization are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka. At the SCO summit in Samarkand, memorandums were signed on granting the status of dialogue partners to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Bahrain, the Maldives, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Myanmar have expressed their desire to receive the same status.

As we can see, the Organization is open for entry into its ranks by countries with different state structures, and sometimes even conflicting with each other: take, for example, the India-China-Pakistan triangle. However, within the SCO, the participating countries are striving to reach a compromise and prevent any aggravation of this or that situation in bilateral relations. The SCO member states advocate that the potential of each country be used in the common interest, but taking into account the specifics and national interests of each country individually. It is important to emphasize that the SCO is not a military-political bloc whose activities are directed against other countries and do not oppose themselves to anyone – it is based on the principles of indivisible security and equality in interaction. The Organization’s philosophy is constructive and creative; it is aimed at cooperation and mutual understanding, at finding joint solutions in the interests of each of its members.

It should also be noted that every year the SCO is becoming an increasingly influential and authoritative organization in the world, thus forming a coalition of non-Western countries in opposition to the United States and its allies. Hence, it is quite understandable that more and more countries are striving to participate in the work of the Organization, which, together with the BRICS association (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), may in the future become the core of the multipolar world that is currently being formed.

Here it is appropriate to recall that during the recent visit to Moscow of Chinese President Xi Jinping and his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the topic of cooperation between the two countries within the framework of the SCO was also touched upon. In particular, the Russian leader, in a statement to the media following the talks with his Chinese counterpart, said: “We consider it important to continue to maintain close coordination within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS, to work in conjunction with the G20, APEC and many other multilateral platforms and , of course, to continue efforts to link integration processes within the EAEU and the Chinese One Belt, One Road initiative with an eye to the formation of the Greater Eurasian Partnership in the future.”

In turn, Xi Jinping said: “We will strengthen cooperation within the framework of multilateral structures, including the SCO, BRICS, the G20, … build up constructive force in the formation of a multipolar world and improve the global governance system, make a greater contribution to global food security, energy security and continuity of production and supply chains, to make joint efforts to form a community of a common destiny for mankind.”

Given the ever-increasing role of the SCO in the international arena, it is especially important that such countries as Iran and Belarus, which play an important role in their regions, join the Organization soon. It is no coincidence that in March of this year, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, at a meeting with SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming, confirmed Tehran’s determination to join the Organization and take an active part in its work. It should be noted that earlier Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi said that the activities of the SCO contribute to building a multipolar world. “Only Western countries continue to oppose the building of a multipolar world,” Raisi said, adding that a multipolar world, in particular, “is being built with the help of regional organizations such as the SCO.”

Recall that on September 15, 2022, at the summit in Samarkand, the Iranian side signed a memorandum of commitment in order to obtain the status of a SCO member state, and on November 27 of the same year, the country’s national parliament, the Majlis, adopted a bill on Iran’s entry into the Organization. The ratification of the bill on the memorandum of commitment took place on January 25, 2023. In accordance with the procedures of the SCO, the memorandum must also be approved by all member countries of the organization.

As for Belarus’ accession to the Organization, Russia and China, which play key roles in it, have already stated that they will contribute to the speedy accession of Minsk to the SCO and the full integration of Belarus into its structure. In particular, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about this at the Organization’s summit in Samarkand. This topic was touched upon during the recent visit of the President of Belarus to China Alexander Lukashenko and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Thus, the document following the talks between the leaders of the two countries states that “China supports the accelerated entry of Belarus into the SCO as a full member.” The issue needs only  legal procedures.

In conclusion, I would like to quote the statement of the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Lavrov. “It is significant that over the past couple of years, including the past first year of the special military operation, the number of countries that want to join the BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, has increased dramatically, there are now about two dozen,” he said, speaking recently at the opening meetings with the heads of territorial bodies-representatives of the domestic Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the constituent entities of Russia. At the same time, Lavrov added that we are talking about countries that play a significant role in their regions, such as Egypt, Turkey, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and a number of African countries. Well, this statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is superfluous once again confirms that the SCO has become a viable association with ambitious plans and a great future.