The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic, and international security intergovernmental organization. It was formally established on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai by six founding members: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The SCO is the successor to the Shanghai Five, which was formed on April 26, 1996, to demilitarize borders and strengthen confidence among China and four post-Soviet states. The organization was created to promote cooperation, peace, and stability among member states, and to foster a "new democratic, fair, and rational international political and economic order". A primary problem it sought to solve was the threat posed by the "three evils" of terrorism, separatism, and extremism in the region.
The SCO's operation is governed by the SCO Charter, which was signed on June 7, 2002, and entered into force on September 19, 2003. Key mechanisms include the annual meeting of the highest decision-making body, the Council of Heads of State (CHS), and the Council of Heads of Government (CHG), which reviews economic strategy and adopts the budget. The organization maintains two permanent bodies: the Secretariat in Beijing and the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, which coordinates counter-terrorism efforts. The Charter mandates adherence to principles like mutual respect for sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, and non-use of force.
The SCO connects to other regional concepts like the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), and it maintains relations with the United Nations. The organization has recently undergone significant expansion, with India and Pakistan officially joining as full members in June 2017. Iran became the ninth member in July 2023, and Belarus joined in July 2024, bringing the total number of member states to ten. The core focus on combating the "three evils" has stayed the same, but the SCO has expanded its agenda to include economic cooperation, such as the proposed SCO Development Bank, and new areas like artificial intelligence and green industry.