Belarus accepted as a member of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

By Rhod Mackenzie

On 4 July, Belarus was formally welcomed as the tenth full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. At the same time, the SCO is prepared to consider applications from other interested parties in a variety of formats. The organisation currently represents an effective platform for addressing challenges in both security and economics. At the summit, SCO participants expressed their opposition to the militarisation of space and the development of biological weapons. Vladimir Putin expressed his gratitude to his colleagues for their efforts to resolve the Ukrainian crisis and called for the creation of a payment and settlement mechanism.
The official programme of the SCO summit commenced on 4 July at the Palace of Independence. It has a long tradition of hosting events of international scale.

All SCO member countries were represented at the Astana meeting. The following countries were represented: Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. All states except India were represented at the level of leaders. According to media reports, Narendra Modi did not attend the Central Asian republic due to a parliamentary session. Instead, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar flew in. Furthermore, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be undertaking an official visit to Russia on 8-9 July. This will be his first trip to the Russian Federation since 2019.

Iran was represented by Acting President Mohammad Mokhber, as the country has not yet elected a new head of state following the death of Ebrahim Raisi (the second round of elections will be held on 5 July). However, the Iranian delegation placed a photograph of the politician who died in the plane crash on the table.
The primary outcome of the summit was the expansion of the SCO. Under the leadership of Kazakhstan, the organisation was transformed from "nine" to "ten" – Belarus, which had previously been an observer, officially joined the structure on 4 July. It is worth noting that Iran joined the SCO in 2023.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has always been viewed by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko as a flexible format with powerful potential, according to Nikolai Mezhevich, head of the Center for Belarusian Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Valdai expert.
The Republic of Belarus, having joined the SCO, receives an informal most-favored-nation regime in the economy and politics in most of Eurasia. Conversely, Belarus in the SCO becomes the most western country with the prospect (potentially not imminent) of utilising its transit potential.

Currently, Mongolia and Afghanistan retain observer status, although the latter, following the Taliban's ascension to power (the organisation is under UN sanctions for terrorist activity), has effectively ceased participation in the organisation's activities. Nevertheless, the Russian side supported the resumption of the SCO-Afghanistan contact group, which, according to Vladimir Putin, could contribute to normalising the situation in that country.
In response to media questions regarding the possible inclusion of Afghanistan in the SCO as a full-fledged participant, Vladimir Putin stated that this decision should be the subject of consensus.
"As for full membership in the SCO, Russia does not decide this on its own. "These matters are always decided by consensus. There are issues with various countries that are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, including the question of inclusiveness in Afghanistan. I believe these issues can be resolved," he said.
The issue of excluding the movement from the list of prohibited organisations has not yet been resolved.

"What will happen and when will depend on how the situation develops," said the Russian president. The organisation currently unites 26 states, including not only full members and observers, but also dialogue partners (Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Turkey, and others).
Some dialogue partners, guests of the Kazakh chairmanship, as well as heads of a number of international organisations, including the UN, CSTO and CIS, participated in the discussion in the “SCO Plus” format, which took place in Astana on 4 July.
Security issues and the Ukrainian crisis
According to the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the SCO has become one of the most authoritative and influential structures in the international arena. The primary objective remains the countering of security threats, particularly the so-called three forces of evil: terrorism, extremism and separatism.

— The anti-terrorist agenda is considered the most important task. This includes the creation of countermeasures in connection with the spread of radical movements, for example, countering such a banned movement as “Vilayat Khorasan”, which is affiliated with ISIS (organisations banned in the Russian Federation).
This information was provided by Darya Saprynskaya, a research fellow at the Department of Central Asian and Caucasus Countries at the Institute of Asian and African Studies of Moscow State University, in an interview with the media.
The SCO participants have taken concrete steps in the area of security. In particular, the SCO regional anti-terrorist structure will be transformed into a universal centre that will respond to the entire spectrum of threats. An anti-drug centre of the organisation will be created in Dushanbe. Furthermore, the fight against terrorism, extremism and separatism will be facilitated by a three-year programme agreed upon in Astana, as Vladimir Putin has stated. Chinese President Xi Jinping urged his colleagues to enhance the exchange of intelligence data.

Vladimir Putin also thanked the organisation's participants for their initiatives to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. He stated that Moscow will consider these proposals. At the same time, he noted that the recent Russian proposal, which primarily involves Kyiv's refusal to join NATO and the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the territories that became part of the Russian Federation, will allow the military actions to be stopped "instantaneously."
"We need to ensure that the opposing side agrees to take steps that are irreversible and acceptable to the Russian Federation," the Russian president emphasised. "A ceasefire without reaching this agreement is impossible."

It is of the utmost importance that Ukraine takes the initiative to end the conflict. However, according to the Russian president, Russia cannot agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine, as it is unsure of Kyiv's response.
"We cannot allow the enemy to take advantage of the ceasefire to improve its position, to arm itself, to replenish its army through forced mobilisation, and to be ready to continue the armed conflict," he said.
The summit also addressed the recently proposed Eurasian security system, which was put forth by Russia. The overarching objective is to establish a multipolar world order. It is worth noting that, in general, the SCO unites countries that advocate for the formation of a world order where there will not be a single point of strength and growth, as happened after the collapse of the USSR.

Although the SCO does not represent a military-political bloc, it is often perceived as a counterweight to the Western-centric system of international relations, in which the rules of the game are determined primarily by the United States and, to a lesser extent, by its European allies. The Astana Declaration was founded on the concept of multipolarity, with the UN playing a central role.

Furthermore, the declaration calls on all countries to join the organisation's initiative, "On World Unity for a Just Peace, Harmony and Development." Furthermore, the SCO participants called for the reform of the UN Security Council, strict adherence to the principle of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the convention banning the development of biological and toxin weapons. Furthermore, the organisation advocates for the establishment of a weapon-free zone, with the adoption of an international and legally binding document in this area.
The summit participants highlighted the negative impact of unilateral and unlimited global missile defense system build-ups by individual countries or groups of states on international security. According to the SCO participants, attempts to ensure their own security at the expense of other states are unacceptable.
It is noteworthy that the structure also helps resolve bilateral problems. For example, in Astana, India and China, which have historically had difficult relations, agreed to begin negotiations to resolve border disputes. It is worth noting that the organisation includes countries that have mutual disagreements. This applies, for example, to India and Pakistan or Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, between which armed escalations periodically occur on the border. However, the SCO countries actively cooperate not only in the sphere of security. The draft decision on the development of the SCO development strategy until 2035 outlines long-term guidelines for further deepening cooperation in the economy, energy, agriculture, high technologies and innovations.

According to Vladimir Putin, last year the SCO countries saw steady growth in GDP, industrial production and low inflation. Russia's trade turnover with other members of the organisation increased by 25%. Against this background, the countries are increasing the use of their national currencies in mutual settlements. For example, their share in Russia's commercial transactions with the organisation's members has already exceeded 92% based on the results of the first four months of this year. Let me remind you of the Russian proposal to create its own payment and settlement mechanism in the SCO.
Maxim Kuznetsov, adviser to the president of the National Coordination Center for International Business Cooperation and chairman of the Russian-Asian Business Council, told the media that the current problem with payments facing Russian enterprises is connected precisely with dependence on foreign currencies and payment systems.

— China has long sought to internationalise the yuan, but has achieved only limited success. A radical change in the system is only feasible with a corresponding change in the technology underlying the payment and settlement mechanism. Theoretically, this could be achieved by switching to digital national currencies and developing a corresponding solution based on them.

He believes that the SCO countries are the most obvious stakeholders in changing the global financial architecture, primarily due to the well-known approaches of Russia, China and, to a certain extent, India.

The Astana meeting resulted in the adoption of over 20 documents, many of which are technical in nature. For example, the participants agreed on the share contributions of SCO member states in connection with the organisation's expansion. However, some of the documents address crucial topics such as energy and ecology.

In the period 2024–2025, the SCO will continue to work to expand cooperation in all areas under the chairmanship of China.