By Anthony Marcus for Eurasia Business News, July 13, 2025. Article n°1616.
The Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States is scheduled to be held on July 15, in Tianjin, China. This was officially announced by a spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Key details about the meeting:
- It will be attended by foreign ministers of SCO member states and heads of SCO permanent bodies, invited by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
- The participants will exchange views on SCO cooperation in various fields as well as discuss major international and regional issues.
- India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi are among the confirmed attendees.
- The meeting serves as a preparatory event for the upcoming SCO Heads of State Summit later in 2025.
- Discussions are expected to focus on political, economic, security, and cultural cooperation within the SCO framework, as well as coordination on regional stability and development.
The SCO Foreign Ministers meeting on July 15 in Tianjin is a key diplomatic event aimed at strengthening multilateral cooperation and addressing pressing regional and global challenges among SCO member states.
The SCO is a political and security group that seeks to counter western influence in Eurasia. The SCO welcomed Iran as a new member, bringing its membership to nine nations. The SCO also includes the four Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, all former Soviet republics. The SCO leaders discussed regional security issues, including terrorism, ethnic separatism, and religious extremism, which have been the main focus of the organization since its inception in 2001.
The SCO is the world’s largest regional organization in terms of geographical coverage and population, covering three-fifths of the Eurasian continent and nearly half of the human population.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) currently has 10 member states as of 2025.
| Country | Capital | Language(s) | President/Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | Beijing | Mandarin | Xi Jinping |
| Kazakhstan | Astana | Kazakh | Kassym-Jomart Tokayev |
| Kyrgyzstan | Bishkek | Kyrgyz | Sadyr Japarov |
| Russia | Moscow | Russian | Vladimir Putin |
| Tajikistan | Dushanbe | Tajik | Emomali Rahmon |
| Uzbekistan | Tashkent | Uzbek | Shavkat Mirziyoyev |
| India | New Delhi | Hindi | Droupadi Murmu |
| Pakistan | Islamabad | Urdu | Asif Ali Zardari |
| Iran | Tehran | Persian (Farsi) | Masoud Pezeshkian |
| Belarus | Minsk | Belarusian | Alexander Lukashenko |
- The SCO was originally founded in 2001 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
- India and Pakistan joined in 2017.
- Iran became a full member in July 2023.
- Belarus joined as a full member in July 2024.
The last Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was held on July 3-4 in Astana, Kazakhstan.
The SCO is a major Eurasian political, economic, and security organization covering a vast geographic area and population, and it continues to expand its influence and membership. Several other countries participate as observers or dialogue partners but are not full members.
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© Copyright 2025 – Eurasia Business News. Article no. 1616.
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