Leaders back a 'just multipolar world order'

Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states on Tuesday adopted the "Bishkek Declaration", setting out plans to deepen cooperation on security, trade and technology as the organisation marked its 25th anniversary.

The declaration was adopted at a meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State in the Kyrgyz capital, bringing together key regional leaders, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others.

The declaration reaffirmed the 10 member states' commitment to international law and the UN Charter and called for strengthening the UN's role in maintaining international peace and security and advancing sustainable development.

It also backed a more representative and just multipolar world order, while calling for reforms to global governance to give states a more equal role in decision-making. It stressed the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI), reforms to global economic governance and stronger cooperation on sustainable development, while opposing "double standards", particularly on human rights.

The group also emphasised the non-military nature of the SCO, saying its members "adhere to an approach that excludes bloc-based and confrontational methods of addressing international and regional development issues".

Beyond the declaration, leaders signed more than 20 other documents covering security, drug trafficking, technology, transport, energy and environmental cooperation. The measures included steps to strengthen regional security and counter drug trafficking, expand transport and logistics links, develop AI and digital infrastructure, and deepen cooperation on energy and environmental issues.

The summit also approved closer cooperation between the SCO and the African Union Commission and designated Lahore, Pakistan, as the SCO's tourism and cultural capital for 2026-2027.

The SCO comprises 10 member states: Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Pakistan will take over the SCO chairmanship from Kyrgyzstan and host the next meeting of the Council of Heads of State in 2027.

Earlier, addressing the 26th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward a four-point proposal for the organisation's future.

He said the SCO should coordinate efforts to counter traditional and non-traditional security threats, combat the "three evil forces", transnational organised crime, drug trafficking and telecommunications fraud, strengthen cooperation on information security, biosecurity and outer space security, and prevent external forces from interfering in internal affairs, endangering political security or undermining regional stability.

In his speech, Russian President Putin recalled that SCO members must do everything possible to eliminate the provocation of armed conflicts from global practice. He wished "success to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his Pakistani colleagues, who will assume the presidency" of the SCO.

On the sidelines of the meeting, meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz held informal interactions with Chinese President Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which key bilateral, regional and international matters were discussed.

Shehbaz also held informal interactions with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

The informal interactions were held in a warm and cordial atmosphere. As Pakistan will host the next SCO summit in Islamabad, the prime minister invited all the leaders to attend the next session of the SCO Plus Format in Islamabad in 2027.