Pakistan will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in the year 2027. In the year 2025, the 25th meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State was held in Tianjin, China.
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistan will host the next Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in the year 2027. He urged officials to begin preparations for it in the national capital.
- The SCO Summit is scheduled to be held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in 2026. In the year 2025, the 25th meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State was held in Tianjin, China.
- The 24th meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State was held in Astana, Kazakhstan. Belarus has become the 10th member country of the SCO.
- In the 2025 declaration, SCO member countries also strongly condemned the Pahalgam terrorist attack and agreed with India’s position that "double standards" in the fight against terrorism are unacceptable.
- Established in June 2001 in Shanghai, the SCO has from six founding members to a family of 27 countries with 10 members, two observers, and 15 dialogue partners spread across Asia, Europe, and Africa.
India chaired the SCO summit in 2023
- India chaired the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the year 2023 and hosted the summit, under which initiatives sugrownch as the SCO Millet Food Festival, SCO Film Festival, and SCO Surajkund Craft Fair were organized, aimed at enhancing people-to-people contact and promoting cultural and humanitarian exchanges among SCO member countries.
- For 2022–23, Varanasi was declared the SCO Tourism and Cultural Capital, which helped promote cultural and humanitarian exchanges among SCO countries.
SCO Establishment & Headquarters:
- Establishment: 15 June 2001, in Shanghai, China.
- Charter signed: 2002 (St. Petersburg), came into force on 19 September 2003.
- Headquarters: Beijing, China.
- RATS (Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure): Located in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
- Developed from the Shanghai Five mechanism (China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan – 1996), aimed at resolving border issues and building regional trust.
- Expanded as a multi-sectoral organization with special focus on security, counter-terrorism, and connectivity.
SCO Membership:
- 10 full members: China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Belarus (latest).
- 2 observer countries: Afghanistan, Mongolia.
- Partner countries – latest in 2025 Laos, total 17 others.