President Ilham Aliyev has traveled to the capital of Kazakhstan to participate in the event, where he is scheduled to meet with the presidents of China, Turkey, Russia, Pakistan, and Kazakhstan. This highlights both the high level of the summit, which brings together leaders of countries with significant global influence, and the authority of the organization, which aims to develop political, trade-economic, cultural-humanitarian cooperation both within the SCO and with other countries worldwide.
To understand the current geopolitical and geo-economic significance of the SCO, let’s look at the statistics. Today, the SCO, which includes nine member countries—Kazakhstan, China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, India, and Iran—accounts for 32.4% of the world’s GDP. The SCO member states cover 26.7% of the world’s territory and are home to 42.6% of the global population. Economically, the SCO holds 18.3% of the world’s oil reserves and 43.1% of its gas reserves. Russia primarily contributes to the territory factor, while China accounts for the largest share of the population. Central Asian countries significantly contribute to hydrocarbon reserves.
The SCO’s value and geopolitical significance lie in its peaceful objectives. In 1996, in Shanghai, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan signed the “Agreement on Confidence-Building Measures in the Military Field in the Border Area,” initiated by China. This essentially committed China and Russia to control the Central Asian region and share their spheres of influence, as the newly formed states after the Soviet Union’s collapse lacked strong armies to counter external threats. These threats included unresolved border delimitation issues and external dangers such as drug trafficking from Afghanistan or Pakistan and terrorism.
The initiative succeeded, leading the “Shanghai Five” countries to sign an agreement in 1997 to reduce armed forces in border areas, establishing a mechanism for military trust. Stronger military powers China and Russia thus became security guarantors for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan against external terrorist threats. Simultaneously, economic ties within the “Five” strengthened, forming long-term cooperation foundations. By 2001, with Uzbekistan’s inclusion, the countries outlined common goals in foreign policy, economy, environmental protection, culture, water resources usage, etc. This led to the 2002 signing of the SCO Charter in Saint Petersburg, which came into force in September 2003.
Once the SCO established principles for regional security, counterterrorism, extremism, and drug trafficking, economic cooperation efforts, particularly in transport, trade, and investment, followed. Today, these goals are successfully achieved, with the SCO boasting three observer states (Afghanistan, Mongolia, Belarus) and 14 dialogue partners, including Azerbaijan, Turkey, UAE, Bahrain, Armenia, Egypt, Cambodia, Qatar, Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, and Sri Lanka. The organization has thus evolved from a structure of purely Asian and Central Asian states into an international political-economic partnership, extending to South Asia, the Middle East, and even Europe, including Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Armenia.
Azerbaijan’s cooperation with the SCO began in 2015 when it was granted partner status at the Council of Heads of State meeting, followed by a memorandum signed in Beijing in 2016. President Ilham Aliyev’s participation in the SCO summit for the second time is significant for both the country and the organization, covering political, economic, transport, and energy cooperation, and many other development areas. This is crucial for Asian states aiming to access European markets, exemplified by projects like the North-South and East-West transport corridors and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, part of the Middle Corridor funded by Azerbaijan.
SCO cooperation extends beyond economics to counterterrorism, extremism, separatism, regional security, stability, and promoting intercivilizational dialogue, vital for Azerbaijan. Moreover, SCO events are crucial platforms for Azerbaijan to voice its concerns globally. President Aliyev’s participation in this summit will undoubtedly help achieve this goal.
Finally, strengthening ties with the SCO offers Azerbaijan a chance to highlight global climate issues and emphasize decisions at COP29, an event Azerbaijan is diligently preparing to host in November.
Rauf Nasirov
Translated from minval.az
