Historical Organization
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
Details
Organization Timeline
SCO Charter enters into force
đź“… 19 September 2003The Charter entered into force after the member states completed the required procedures. The SCO now had a binding constitutive instrument governing its institutions and stated purposes, creating a...
SCO calls for UN-centered action against terrorism
đź“… 17 June 2004The declaration argued for a global counterterrorism system centered on the United Nations and for prevention as well as response. This framing resisted unilateral security hierarchies, but it did not...
SCO welcomes reconstruction and stability in Afghanistan
đź“… 17 June 2004The Tashkent Declaration expressed interest in a peaceful, united Afghanistan and supported international cooperation on security, reconstruction and drug trafficking. Afghanistan was treated as...
Tashkent summit promotes cooperation among Asian regional organizations
đź“… 17 June 2004The member states proposed a wider network among Asia-Pacific multilateral organizations, including through agreements and observer relations. The proposal reflected an ambition for South-South and...
Mongolia receives observer status at the Tashkent summit
đź“… 17 June 2004The SCO granted Mongolia observer status by Decision No. 12 of the Council of Heads of State, creating a formal channel for participation without full membership. The status illustrates how the...
India, Iran and Pakistan receive SCO observer status
đź“… 5 July 2005At the Astana summit, the six member states granted India, Iran and Pakistan observer status. This widened formal access to SCO dialogue without giving the three states the decision-making rights of...
Astana Declaration calls for a new international order
đź“… 5 July 2005The declaration advanced a more democratic and equitable international order and emphasized sovereign equality and respect for national choices. This challenged post-Cold War hierarchy and...
SCO states express concern over external military presence in Central Asia
📅 5 July 2005The Astana summit statement called on coalition forces in Afghanistan to set a timetable for temporary use of infrastructure and bases in member states. It reflected member governments’ desire to...
Astana Declaration reiterates that the SCO is not a military alliance
đź“… 5 July 2005The member states described the SCO as a partnership rather than a military bloc. The declaration counters popular comparisons with NATO, though its expanding security cooperation still invites...
Putin and Ahmadinejad discuss nuclear diplomacy in Shanghai
đź“… 15 June 2006Putin and Ahmadinejad met during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, discussing bilateral ties, the six-country nuclear offer and regional cooperation.
SCO marks its fifth anniversary with a renewed cooperation agenda
📅 15 June 2006The heads of state reviewed the organization’s first five years and renewed its stated mission of peace, cooperation and development. The declaration presented the SCO as a regional institution with a...
SCO leaders issue a statement on international information security
đź“… 15 June 2006The heads of state identified information and communication technologies as a security concern and called for cooperation on international information security. The statement linked cyber and...
Bishkek summit adopts a declaration on regional cooperation
đź“… 16 August 2007The six member states discussed globalization, security and shared development and adopted the Bishkek Declaration. The declaration framed regional cooperation as an answer to interdependence, while...
SCO leaders approve an action plan on information security
đź“… 16 August 2007The summit approved an action plan to implement the 2006 statement on international information security. The document extended cooperation from declaring principles to coordinating government...
Dushanbe Declaration addresses conflict and international security
đź“… 28 August 2008At the Dushanbe summit, leaders set out positions on regional and global affairs. They supported peaceful settlement of conflicts and discussed the August 2008 war in Georgia. Their statement should...
SCO reaffirms human-rights commitments in its Dushanbe declaration
đź“… 28 August 2008The declaration referred to international standards for protecting human rights and civil liberties, including minority rights, alongside national law. This formal commitment offers a benchmark for...
SCO creates a dialogue-partner status
📅 28 August 2008The member states adopted rules for dialogue partners, giving interested states a formal channel for cooperation below observer status and membership. The new category widened the SCO’s external...
SCO convenes a special conference on Afghanistan
📅 27 March 2009The SCO hosted a special conference on Afghanistan with regional and international participation. The declaration treated Afghanistan’s stability as inseparable from regional security and development,...
Afghanistan conference emphasizes a regional approach to reconstruction
đź“… 27 March 2009Participants linked security to reconstruction and economic development and called for coordinated efforts against terrorism and narcotics trafficking. This recognized that military measures alone...
Medvedev and Ahmadinejad meet in Yekaterinburg
đź“… 16 June 2009Russian president Dmitry Medvedev met Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation gathering in Yekaterinburg, maintaining high-level bilateral contact.
Yekaterinburg Declaration argues for a more equitable international order
đź“… 16 June 2009At the 2009 summit, member states called for dialogue and a more equitable and rational architecture of interstate relations. Their position challenged concentration of global decision-making power,...
SCO adopts a Convention against Terrorism
📅 16 June 2009The member states adopted the SCO Convention against Terrorism, giving a treaty framework to cooperation against terrorism. Its legal definitions and obligations expanded the organization’s security...
SCO summit links security cooperation with regional economic recovery
đź“… 16 June 2009The Yekaterinburg meeting took place during the global financial crisis and called for international cooperation on economic stability and development. It positioned the SCO as a venue for...
United Nations and SCO sign a cooperation declaration
đź“… 5 April 2010The UN and SCO Secretariats signed a declaration on cooperation in Tashkent. It formalized relations between the regional organization and the UN system, creating a channel for coordination while...
Tashkent Declaration reaffirms sovereign equality and cooperation
đź“… 11 June 2010The member states issued a summit declaration in Tashkent, presenting the SCO as a platform for security, economic and diplomatic cooperation. Its principles of sovereign equality and non-interference...
SCO members adopt a procedure for admitting new members
đź“… 11 June 2010The Tashkent summit adopted a procedure for future membership applications. This formalized a route for possible expansion, but it did not make any applicant a member or remove the requirement for...
SCO addresses Kyrgyzstan’s political crisis through a cautious state-led response
📅 11 June 2010During the 2010 Kyrgyzstan crisis, the organization emphasized assistance and stability but did not intervene militarily. This response reflected the SCO’s non-interference principle and exposed a...
Tashkent summit transfers the SCO chairmanship to Kazakhstan
📅 11 June 2010The rotating chairmanship passed from Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan at the summit. Rotation gave member states formal participation in agenda leadership, though the members’ differing political and...
SCO marks its tenth anniversary in Astana
📅 15 June 2011The heads of state marked a decade since the SCO’s founding and reviewed its institutional development. Their declaration emphasized the organization’s permanent bodies and cooperation record,...
Astana anniversary declaration promotes democratization of international relations
đź“… 15 June 2011The members expressed support for international law, cooperation and a more democratic international system. This language challenged unequal global institutions, while the SCO itself remained an...
SCO approves rules for admitting new members
đź“… 15 June 2011The Council of Heads of State approved a regulation on admission of new members, establishing a formal basis for future enlargement. The process remained controlled by existing governments and...
Beijing Declaration calls for lasting peace and shared prosperity
đź“… 7 June 2012The six heads of state adopted a declaration describing a regional vision of peace, development and international cooperation. Its language of common prosperity raised a political aspiration;...
SCO grants Afghanistan observer status
📅 7 June 2012The Beijing summit granted Afghanistan observer status, widening its institutional relationship with the organization without making it a member. The decision recognized Afghanistan’s central place in...
SCO grants Turkey dialogue-partner status
đź“… 7 June 2012The summit granted Turkey dialogue-partner status, creating a structured channel for cooperation. The decision demonstrated that participation in SCO dialogue did not require abandoning other...
SCO leaders approve a medium-term development strategy
📅 7 June 2012The Beijing summit adopted strategic directions for medium-term development. The strategy set shared priorities while leaving implementation to member governments and the organization’s...
Beijing summit approves a counterterrorism programme for 2013–2015
📅 7 June 2012The member states adopted a programme for cooperation against terrorism, separatism and extremism for 2013–2015. The programme extended coordination under the familiar three-part security framework,...
SCO outlines political and diplomatic responses to regional threats
đź“… 7 June 2012The Beijing summit revised mechanisms for political and diplomatic response to situations threatening regional peace, security and stability. The measure offered an alternative to unilateral action...
SCO heads of government call for implementation of Beijing agreements
📅 5 December 2012Prime ministers agreed to work on implementing the Beijing summit’s decisions and existing trade-cooperation plans. The communiqué highlights the recurring gap between high-level declarations and...
Rouhani and Putin meet in Bishkek
📅 13 September 2013Iranian president Hassan Rouhani met Vladimir Putin in Bishkek during the SCO summit, renewing leadership-level contact after Iran’s presidential transition.
Bishkek Declaration links regional stability to development
📅 13 September 2013The six heads of state adopted the Bishkek Declaration, emphasizing security, development, transport connectivity and cooperation. Its broad agenda shows the SCO’s attempt to connect regional...
SCO reaffirms its long-term good-neighbourliness treaty
📅 13 September 2013The Bishkek Declaration described the 2007 treaty as a legal foundation for regional peace and prosperity. This linked the organization’s diplomatic principles to a binding instrument but did not...
Dushanbe summit adopts a declaration on regional cooperation
đź“… 12 September 2014The member states issued the 2014 Dushanbe Declaration, reviewing regional challenges and cooperation. The text presented the SCO as an advocate of a more equitable international order while...
SCO adopts a development strategy through 2025
đź“… 12 September 2014At the Dushanbe summit, leaders approved a strategy to guide the organization to 2025. It set long-range policy directions but depended on future member-state decisions, budgets and implementation.
SCO completes formal procedures for future membership applications
📅 12 September 2014The summit approved procedures and a model memorandum defining obligations for states applying to become members. This prepared the way for later expansion while preserving the existing members’...
India submits an application for full SCO membership
đź“… 12 September 2014India formally applied for membership following the adoption of accession procedures. This began a government-to-government process; it did not mean that India had already been admitted or that...
Rouhani and Putin meet in Qingdao after US nuclear withdrawal
đź“… 9 June 2018Hassan Rouhani and Vladimir Putin met during the SCO summit in Qingdao, maintaining presidential dialogue after the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement.
SCO launches process to admit Iran as a full member
📅 17 September 2021The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, including Russia, decided at its Dushanbe summit to begin Iran’s accession process, advancing Tehran’s institutional ties with Eurasian partners.
Samarkand summit adopts documents advancing Iran’s SCO accession
đź“… 16 September 2022The SCO summit in Samarkand adopted an accession-related package for Iran, advancing the process begun in 2021 while leaving full membership to a later stage.
Iran becomes a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
đź“… 4 July 2023Iran became a full SCO member at the New Delhi summit, completing the accession process and joining an organisation that includes Russia and China.
Raisi and Putin discuss cooperation in a presidential phone call
đź“… 19 March 2024Raisi congratulated Putin on his re-election during a telephone conversation. The presidents discussed further coordination through the SCO and BRICS.
SCO heads of state meet in Tianjin
đź“… 31 August 2025China hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, bringing member-state leaders and partner governments together. The meeting let Beijing foreground Eurasian security, economic...
Xi addresses SCO Plus participants on global governance
đź“… 1 September 2025At the SCO Plus meeting, Xi called for cooperation among a wider group of states and advocated changes to global governance. The appeal to multipolarity draws on long-standing criticism of Western...
SCO leaders gather in Bishkek for the 2026 summit
📅 31 August 2026The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation held its leaders’ meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, under the rotating chairmanship of Kyrgyzstan. China participated as a major member, promoting regional...
Putin and Pezeshkian meet at the SCO summit in Bishkek
📅 1 September 2026Putin and Pezeshkian held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. They discussed Russian–Iranian cooperation and the regional conflict. The meeting showed...
Xi presents four proposals at the SCO summit
đź“… 1 September 2026Xi proposed four directions for SCO cooperation at the Bishkek summit and linked the organization to the Belt and Road Initiative and Global Development Initiative. The agenda shows China using...
SCO secretary-general attends Moscow forum on collective security
đź“… 12 November 2026The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation said Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev attended the plenary of the International Forum on Ensuring Collective Security in Moscow. Press TV, an Iranian state...