The 26th annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) concluded in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Tuesday, September 1. This years’ summit was attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, among others.

At the conclusion of the summit, member countries adopted the Bishkek Declaration, which reiterates the common resolve of the SCO to work against all forms of hegemonic practices in world politics and create a truly democratic and equitable world order.

The declaration also condemned the growing use of unilateral coercive measures or sanctions by certain countries to achieve their geopolitical goals at the cost of the global economy and nations’ right to development.

It demanded an equitable and democratic international financial system and envisaged the reduction of its dependence on the US dollar and other such currencies as a move towards creating a truly independent global financial order.

The declaration also contemplated issues beyond our world and into the realm of deep space. While clarifying that it is not a military or political block, the SCO raised a collective demand of keeping outer space free from any kind of weapons. It asked the international community to legally prohibit all such possibilities of an arms race in outer space.

The year 2026 marks 25 years since the formation of the SCO. From its original six members in 2001, the total number of its permanent members has now grown to 10; China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, and five Central Asian Republics.

In addition, there were 15 other countries who participated in the summit as “dialogue partners,” including Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Sri Lanka.

The member states of the SCO along with their dialogue partners represent around 50% of the world’s population and around 25% of the global economy.

Equitable and orderly global governance

While addressing the SCO summit on Tuesday, Xi emphasized “the Shanghai Spirit of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations and pursuit of common development.”

The SCO “should stay committed to dialogue and consultation, and strive for a more equitable and orderly governance,” Xi underlined.

He also talked about how the SCO can be a platform to implement the Global Development and Security Initiatives proposed by China as a common goal.

Read more: Xi Jinping proposes a new global governance framework based on sovereignty and multilateralism at SCO summit

Xi’s initiatives proposed in this year and in years prior are centered around the promotion of multilateralism in the world and the democratization of global institutions, including financial institutions. They talk about every country’s right to development without external interventions and greater mutual cooperation and coordination in achieving common security and developmental goals.

In turn, Pezeshkian talked about the ongoing illegal US-Israeli war on his country, claiming Iran is ready to respond to all kinds of provocations including the attempts by the Donald Trump-led administration to economically isolate the country.

Unilateralism is a source of concern

Pezeshkian underlined that unilateralism, the use of force and military power, unilateral and unlawful sanctions, and the instrumentalization of economic and technological tools are major concerns for all developing countries and emerging economies.

He welcomed the calls for economic independence from hegemonic interventions and proposed the formation of institutions related to finances, trade, and energy.

Russian President Putin claimed cooperation in the SCO helps to ensure the planned and sustainable development of each of its member states, and the formation of an atmosphere of peace, stability, trust, and cooperation in the Eurasian region.

He too underlined the need for greater economic cooperation and trade within the members of the group and nurturing institutions, such as the SCO Development Bank, as independently as possible from the influence of countries that use “finance as weapon.”

Two of the 10 SCO countries, Russia and Iran, have been victims of numerous unilateral punitive measures or sanctions imposed by the US and its allies.

These sanctions are often used as a tool to punish countries for opting an independent course of action in geopolitical or developmental matters, in complete violation of the UN charter and other international laws.

After failing to defeat it militarily in the last six months, the US has now threatened the economic isolation of Iran, threatening all countries, including China, which have economic relations with it with secondary sanctions.

Read more: US economic warfare is a criminal attempt to hide the failures of its military aggression, says Iran

Putin reiterated the need to increase trade in local currencies as one important step towards curbing the hegemonic practices over the global economy by countries such as the US.

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