As the unipolar world order continues to push war and economic coercion, the members and dialogue partners of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization met Aug. 31-Sept. 1 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan for an annual summit on the group’s 25th anniversary.
“The SCO is today, in fact, the largest regional association… in the world as a whole,” Russian President Putin observed at the Council of Heads of State session. “Its member countries are home to almost half the planet’s population and account for more than a third of the global gross domestic product. The SCO region is home to powerful intellectual and technological potential, as well as a significant portion of the world’s natural resources. Key transcontinental, transport, and logistics routes run through it.”
In his address to the “SCO-Plus” meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping “noted that the trend toward a multipolar world is irreversible,” as reported by Xinhua. The rise of the Global South is driving a profound shift in the international balance of power, Xi said, and insisted that “the Global South countries ought to have greater representation and voice in international affairs.” He called on the SCO to advance a more just and equitable global governance system.
While President Trump and Treasury Secretary Bessent huffed and puffed about turning Iran into an “economic outcast,” Iranian President Pezeshkian traveled to Bishkek, was warmly welcomed by his counterparts, and conducted numerous bilateral meetings in addition to addressing the Council of Heads of State.
