Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO): history and goals of creation. 上海合作组织The Shanghai cooperation organization

On June 9-10, 2018, a meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (CHS SCO) took place in the city of Qingdao (PRC).

It was attended by the Prime Minister of the Republic of India N. Modi, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N. A. Nazarbayev, the Chairman of the Chinese People's Republic Xi Jinping, President Kyrgyz Republic S.Sh.Jeenbekov, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan M.Hussein, President Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, President of the Republic of Tajikistan E. Rahmon and President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sh. M. Mirziyoyev.

The meeting was chaired by President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping.

The meeting was attended by SCO Secretary-General R.K.Alimov and Director of the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) of the SCO E.S.Sysoev.

The event was attended by President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan A. Ghani, President of the Republic of Belarus A.G. Lukashenko, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran H. Rouhani, President of Mongolia H. Battulga, as well as First Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations A. Mohammed, Secretary General Association of Southeast Asian Nations Lim Jok Hoi, Commonwealth Executive Secretary Independent States Sergei N. Lebedev, Secretary General of the Treaty Organization collective security Y.G. Khachaturov, Executive Director of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia Gong Jianwei, Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission T.S. Sargsyan, Vice President World Bank V. Kvava, Director of the Department of International Monetary Fund Lee Chan Young.

The leaders of the member states considered the implementation of the results of the Astana Summit in 2017 and the priority tasks for the further development of the SCO in the context of current processes in world politics and the economy. The agreed positions of the parties are reflected in the adopted Qingdao Declaration.

It was stated that the member states, firmly adhering to the goals and principles of the SCO Charter and following the "Shanghai spirit", progressively solve the tasks defined in the SCO Development Strategy until 2025. It was noted that the SCO today has established itself as a unique, influential and authoritative regional association, whose potential has increased markedly with the entry into the Organization of India and Pakistan.

The intention was confirmed to continue strengthening practical cooperation in the field of politics, security, trade and the economy, including financial, investment, transport, energy, agriculture, as well as cultural and humanitarian ties. The Action Plan for 2018-2022 for the implementation of the provisions of the Treaty on Long-term Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation of the SCO Member States was approved.

In the context of the exchange of views on topical international and regional issues, the need was emphasized to build up joint efforts to ensure security and stability in the SCO space, as well as to promote the formation international relations a new type and common vision of the idea of ​​creating a community with a common destiny for mankind.

Member States consistently stand for the settlement of the situation in Afghanistan, Syria, the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula and other regional conflicts within the framework of generally recognized norms and principles international law. The importance of sustainable implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to resolve the situation around the Iranian nuclear program was noted.

Member States reaffirm their strong support for the UN's efforts to ensure international peace and security. They noted the need for consensus on the adoption of the UN Comprehensive Convention against international terrorism, as well as the initiative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to promote on the UN platform the Code of Conduct for Achieving a World Free of Terrorism.

The leaders of the Member States noted the intentions of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Tajikistan to nominate their candidacies for non-permanent members of the UN Security Council.

The coordinated line of the SCO on effective fight with security challenges and threats. The adopted Program of Cooperation of the SCO Member States in Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism for 2019-2021 will contribute to the promotion of practical cooperation in this area. A special role in its implementation is assigned to the SCO RATS.

A high assessment was given to the results of the International Conference on Countering Terrorism and Extremism (Dushanbe, May 3-4, 2018), which has become an important platform for interaction between the parties in these areas.

The leaders of the Member States advocate the establishment of comprehensive work on the spiritual and moral education of the younger generation and the prevention of its involvement in destructive activities. In this regard, the Joint Appeal to Youth and the Action Program for the implementation of its provisions were adopted, the initiative of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the adoption of a special resolution of the UN General Assembly "Enlightenment and religious tolerance" was supported.

Member States will further promote cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking based on the SCO Anti-Drug Strategy for 2018-2023. and the Action Program for its implementation, as well as the SCO Concept on the Prevention of Abuse of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.

The SCO will continue to contribute to building broad and mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of ensuring information security, development of universal international rules, norms and principles of responsible behavior of states in the information space.

The commitment of the SCO member states to the central role of the UN in promoting the implementation of the Global Agenda for Sustainable Development was confirmed. The importance of improving the architecture of global economic governance, the consistent strengthening and development of the multilateral trading system, the core of which is the World trade Organization, in the interest of building an open world economy.

The SCO seeks to create favorable conditions for trade and investment, to identify joint approaches to solving the problems of facilitating trade procedures, stimulating electronic commerce, developing the service industry and trade in services. Efforts will continue to support micro, small and medium-sized businesses, promote cooperation in the field of transport, energy and agriculture.

The initiative to hold the first meeting of the heads of railway administrations of the SCO member states in Uzbekistan was supported.
In order to increase attention to environmental problems, the Member States adopted the Concept of Cooperation in the Field of Environmental Protection. Work continued on the draft Program of Cooperation of the SCO Member States on Food Security.

The initiative of the Republic of Tajikistan on the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development, 2018-2028” and the holding of a high-level International Conference on this topic under the auspices of the UN (Dushanbe, June 20-22, 2018) were highly appreciated.

The Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan confirmed their support for the initiative of the People's Republic of China "One Belt, One Road" (OBOR), noted the efforts to jointly implement it, including to interface the construction of the Eurasian Economic union and the OPOP.

The leaders of the member states are in favor of using the potential of the countries of the region, international organizations and multilateral associations in order to form a broad, open, mutually beneficial and equal partnership in the SCO space.

The creation of the Forum of Heads of Regions in the SCO will contribute to the development of interregional cooperation. The intention to hold the first meeting of the Forum in 2018 in Chelyabinsk (Russian Federation) was noted

Efforts will be continued to unlock the full potential of the SCO Business Council and the SCO Interbank Association.

The position was confirmed in favor of further strengthening practical cooperation in the banking and financial sector and continuing the search for common approaches to the creation of the SCO Development Bank and the Development Fund (Special Account) of the SCO.

Confirming the special role of humanitarian cooperation in strengthening mutual understanding, trust and friendship between peoples, the leaders of the member states spoke in favor of developing multifaceted cooperation in the fields of culture, education, science and technology, as well as in the field of healthcare, tourism and sports.

The desire to increase multidisciplinary cooperation with SCO observer states and dialogue partners, as well as international and regional organizations was emphasized.

As a result of the meeting, the Joint Statement of the Heads of State on Trade Facilitation and the Statement of the Heads of State on Joint Counteraction to the Threats of Epidemics in the SCO Space were also adopted. The Joint Action Plan for the implementation of the Program of Cooperation of the SCO Member States in the field of tourism for the period 2019-2020, the Memorandum of Understanding to stimulate cooperation within the SCO in the field of micro, small and medium-sized businesses, the Regulations for information interaction of round-the-clock contact points, carried out with using the channels of the operational platform CENcomm RILO-MOSCOW, Memorandum on the exchange of information on cross-border movements ozone depleting substances and hazardous waste.
The reports of the SCO Secretary-General on the activities of the SCO over the last year and the Council of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure on the activities of the RATS in 2017.

The Council of Heads of SCO Member States appointed V. I. Norov (Republic of Uzbekistan) as SCO Secretary General and D. F. Giyosov (Republic of Tajikistan) as Director of the RATS Executive Committee for the period from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2021.

In the period after the summit in Astana (June 8-9, 2017), a meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of the Member States was held (Sochi, November 30 - December 1, 2017), a meeting of secretaries of security councils (Sochi) Beijing, May 21-22, 2018), extraordinary and regular meetings of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (New York, September 20, 2017, Beijing, April 24, 2018), meetings of the Council of National Coordinators (Beijing, Yangzhou, Moscow, Beijing, August 2017 - June 2018), Council of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (Beijing, September 17, 2017, Tashkent, April 5, 2018), meeting of the heads of border services of the competent authorities (Dalian, June 29, 2017), meetings of the heads of departments involved in the prevention and elimination of emergency situations (Cholpon-Ata, August 24-25, 2017), Ministers of Justice (Tashkent, 20 October 2017), Chairmen of the Supreme Courts (Tashkent, October 25-27, 2017, Beijing, May 25, 2018), heads of services, responsible for ensuring sanitary and epidemiological well-being Sochi, October 31, 2017), ministers responsible for foreign economic and foreign trade activities (Moscow, November 15, 2017), prosecutors general (St. Petersburg, November 29, 2017), heads of ministries and departments of science and technology (Moscow, April 18-21, 2018), SCO Forum (Astana, May 4-5, 2018), meeting of heads of national tourism administrations (Wuhan, May 7-11, 2018) , ministers of defense (Beijing, April 24, 2018), ministers of culture (Sanya, May 15, 2018), heads of competent authorities empowered to combat drugs (Tianjin, May 17, 2018), SCO Women's Forum (Beijing,
May 15-17, 2018), SCO Media Forum (Beijing, June 1, 2018), meetings of the Board of the SCO Business Council (Beijing, June 6, 2018) and the Council of the SCO Interbank Association (Beijing, June 5-7, 2018), as well as other events at various levels.

The leaders of the member states highly appreciated the work done by the People's Republic of China during the presidency of the SCO and expressed gratitude to the Chinese side for the hospitality and good organization of the summit in Qingdao.

The chairmanship in the Organization for the forthcoming period passes to the Kyrgyz Republic. The next meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO Member States will be held in 2019 in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Regulations on the Business Council of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

(Approved by the Decision of the Session of the Business Council of the SCO Member States on June 14, 2006, Shanghai)

I. General provisions

1. The Business Council of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (hereinafter referred to as the Business Council) is a non-governmental organization that unites business and financial circles of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (hereinafter SCO) - the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan , Republic of Uzbekistan.

2. The Business Council is being created to promote the expansion of economic cooperation within the SCO, to establish direct ties and dialogue between the business and financial circles of the SCO member states, to involve them in all-round business cooperation in the trade, economic and investment fields.

3. The Business Council carries out its activities taking into account the SCO Charter, the Program of Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation of the SCO Member States, the Action Plan for the implementation of this Program, the decisions of the Council of Heads of State (hereinafter referred to as the CHS) and the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of the Member States SCO (hereinafter SGP), other documents in the economic sphere adopted by the SCO bodies.

4. The Business Council functions in cooperation with the Meeting of Ministers of the SCO Member States Responsible for Foreign Economic and Foreign Trade Activities (hereinafter referred to as the Ministerial Meeting), the SCO Secretariat and other SCO structures.

II. Tasks and activities of the Business Council

5. The main tasks of the Business Council are:

Promoting the development of effective regional cooperation of the member states in trade, economic, credit and financial, scientific and technical, energy, transport, telecommunications, agro-industrial and other areas of common interest to the business and financial circles of the SCO member states;

Attracting the business and financial circles of the member states to the implementation of projects in various sectors of the economy on the territory of the SCO member states, promoting the development of direct contacts and ties between the business circles of the SCO countries;

Assistance in finding sources of financing, partners and other forms of participation necessary for the implementation of investment projects of the SCO member states;

Expansion of forms of cooperation between business and financial circles of the SCO member states within the framework of special working groups and through various events (exhibitions, conferences, seminars, etc.);

Implementation of information exchange in the interests of developing cooperation between business and financial circles of the SCO member states;

Development of plans and programs for cooperation between business and financial circles of the SCO member states in the relevant areas;

Interaction and strengthening of ties with economic, financial organizations, chambers of commerce and industry, enterprises of both the SCO member states and other states, exchange of information with them, assistance to the business circles of the SCO in the development of their economic activities abroad.

6. The spheres of cooperation of the Business Council may be expanded by mutual agreement of the SCO member states.

III. Structure and functioning of the Business Council

7. The supreme body of the Business Council is the annual Session, which determines priorities and develops the main directions of its activities, resolves the most important issues of relations with business associations of other states.

Sessions, as a rule, are held during the meetings of the CHS or CHP of the SCO member states. Session meetings are chaired by the Chairman of the Board of the Business Council or his deputy. Representatives of the relevant ministries and departments of the SCO member states, as well as the SCO Secretariat, can take part in the Session as invited persons.

8. The Business Council may hold extraordinary Sessions on the initiative of the National Section of one of the SCO Member States and with the consent of all other national sections of the SCO Member States. The initiators send the corresponding appeal to the Secretariat of the Business Council with proposals on the draft agenda, dates and place of the Session, but no later than 30 days before the scheduled date of the extraordinary Session.

9. Decisions of the Session are taken by consensus and are binding on the Business Council.

10. The procedure for convening and holding the Session is governed by the regulations of the Session of the Business Council.

11. The Business Council is formed from the national parts of the SCO member states, uniting their business and financial circles interested in business cooperation in the SCO space. The procedure for the formation, composition, as well as the regulations for the activities of the National Part is determined in accordance with the procedures established in each SCO member state.

12. The national divisions of the SCO member states create Secretariats of national divisions that interact with the Secretariat of the Business Council and are headed by Secretaries elected or appointed in accordance with the procedures established in each SCO member state.

13. The Chairman (Head) of the National Part of the Business Council is elected or appointed from among the members of the National Part in accordance with the rules and procedures established in each SCO member state.

14. The Board of the Business Council consists of three representatives from each National part of the Business Council, as well as the Secretary of the Business Council.

15. The Board performs the following functions:

Submission for approval by the Session of draft Regulations on the Business Council of the SCO Member States, regulations of the Session, the Board and the Secretariat of the SCO Business Council;

Discussing and resolving issues of the current activities of the Business Council and developing measures to improve it;

Consideration of the draft report of the Business Council for the next meeting of the SCO SGP, approval of the agenda of the next Session;

Making decisions on the creation of special working groups within the framework of the Business Council - with the subsequent approval of such decisions at the Session, as well as on holding joint activities(exhibitions, conferences, seminars, etc.);

Adoption of decisions on the appeal of the Business Council to the SCO CHS and the SCO CHP on the most important issues economic activity SCO;

Establishment and maintenance of working contacts with the leadership of international financial organizations, business associations of other states.

16. The Board of the Business Council holds its meetings once a year, which are organized in the country where the SCO CHS or SCO CHP meetings are held during the annual Session of the Business Council.

17. The Board may also hold extraordinary meetings as necessary. At the same time, meetings of the Management Board are convened at the initiative of at least two national parts of the Business Council. The initiators simultaneously send the corresponding joint appeal to the Secretariat of the Business Council with proposals on the agenda of the meeting, the timing of the meeting no later than thirty days before the scheduled date of the meeting. The Secretariat of the Business Council informs the Secretariats of the national divisions about the proposal received within five days and asks for their opinion. The secretariats of the national units send their answers to the Secretariat of the Business Council within ten days, which brings them to the attention of the members of the Board within three days.

18. Decisions on all issues are made without a vote and are considered adopted if none of the national parts of the Business Council objected to such decisions (that is, by consensus).

19. The results of the meetings of the Board are recorded by the Secretary, signed by authorized members of the Board from each National part of the Business Council.

20. The Chairman of the Board of the SCO Business Council and his Deputy are approved by the decision of the Session of the SCO Business Council for a period of three years from among the chairmen of the national parts of the SCO Business Council on a rotational basis in accordance with the SCO statutory documents.

21. The Chairman of the Board performs the following functions:

Conducts Board meetings;

Coordinates the activities of the Secretariat of the Business Council;

Maintains working contacts with members of the Management Board between meetings of the Management Board;

Submits the report of the Business Council at the meetings of the State Council of the SCO member states.

22. Secretariat of the Business Council:

Examines and summarizes the proposals and materials for the agenda of the meetings of the Board received from the Secretariats of the national parts, on their basis prepares proposals to the Board on the provisional agenda, dates and venue of the meetings;

In agreement with the Board, sends the agenda of the annual Session to the Secretariats of the national parts, as well as other necessary materials, as a rule, no later than twenty days before the start of the annual Session;

Based on the materials submitted by the national parts of the Business Council, prepares a report for the annual Session of the Business Council;

Carries out organizational preparations for the Session - in cooperation with the bodies of the host state responsible for holding meetings of the CHS or the SCO CHP;

Carries out control over the implementation of the decisions of the Board, the annual Session;

Ensures that copies of documents adopted by the Board, as well as by the Annual Session, are sent to the Secretariats of the National Parts;

Develops a draft work plan for the implementation of the decisions of the Board meetings and the annual Session;

Requests from the national parts of the Business Council information and reference and other materials necessary to ensure the work of the Business Council. The secretariat creates a database on issues that are the subject of the Business Council. The necessary information is then provided by the Secretariat to the national parts of the Business Council and the SCO bodies upon their request;

In coordination with the national parts of the Business Council organizes exhibitions, conferences, seminars and other events;

Maintains working relations with the Ministerial Conference, the SCO Secretariat and other SCO structures;

Maintains contacts with representatives of international financial organizations, business associations of other states, as well as representatives of the media, to whom, within its competence, explains the position on the current activities of the Business Council;

IV. Working groups

23. If necessary, expert and target working groups of the Business Council may be created. Their composition and work plans are developed by the Secretariat in agreement with the national parts of the Business Council and approved by the Board.

24. The expert working groups interact in appropriate forms with the special working groups established within the framework of the SCO.

V. Other forms of activity

25. The Business Council in its activities also uses such forms as business forums, exhibitions, presentations, conferences and symposiums organized independently or as part of the SCO Forum.

26. Information about the activities of the Business Council is posted on the SCO Regional Economic Cooperation Website and the SCO Secretariat Website. The procedure for providing and using such information is regulated by agreements between the Board and the SCO Secretariat.

27. Within the framework of the Business Council, meetings of representatives of the Business Council with the leaders of the SCO member states during the meetings of the CHS, CHP and other events of the SCO member states can be practiced.

28. Representatives of the business communities of countries that are not SCO member states, as well as various international organizations, may be invited to events held by the Business Council.

VI. Financing the activities of the Business Council

29. Financing of the national parts of the Business Council is carried out in accordance with the internal procedures established in each SCO member state.

30. Organizational expenses related to the meetings of the Management Board and the Session of the Business Council shall be borne by the host party. Travel expenses to the venue of the session, accommodation and meals are paid by the sending party.

VII. Final provisions

The working languages ​​of the Business Council are Russian and Chinese.

This Regulation shall enter into force from the date of its approval by the Session of the Business Council.

These Regulations may be amended and/or supplemented by the decision of the Session. The relevant decision shall enter into force from the date of its adoption.

The functions and procedures for the work of the SCO bodies, with the exception of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure, are determined by the relevant provisions, which are approved by the Council of Heads of State.

The Council of Heads of State may decide to establish other SCO bodies. The creation of new bodies is formalized in the form of additional protocols to the Charter of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which come into force in accordance with the procedure established by Article 21 of the SCO Charter.

Decision-making procedure

Decisions in the SCO bodies are taken by agreement without a vote and are considered adopted if none of the member states objected to them during the agreement process (consensus), with the exception of decisions to suspend membership or expel from the Organization, which are made on the basis of the “consensus” principle. minus one vote of the Member State concerned.”

Any Member State may express its point of view on certain aspects and/or specific issues of decisions being made, which is not an obstacle to making a decision as a whole. This point of view is recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

In cases where one or more Member States are not interested in the implementation of individual cooperation projects that are of interest to other Member States, the non-participation of these Member States in them does not prevent the implementation of such cooperation projects by the interested Member States and, at the same time, does not prevent these States Members to further join in the implementation of such projects.

Execution of decisions

The decisions of the SCO bodies are executed by the member states in accordance with the procedures determined by their national legislation.

Control over the fulfillment of the obligations of the Member States to implement this Charter, other treaties in force within the framework of the SCO and decisions of its bodies is carried out by the SCO bodies within their competence.

Non-governmental structures of the SCO

Within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, there are also two non-governmental structures: the SCO Business Council and the SCO Interbank Association.

SCO Business Council

The Business Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (BC SCO) was established on June 14, 2006 in the city of Shanghai (China) by the national parts of the council from the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan. The documents regulating the activities of the SCO DC and its permanent secretariat, which is located in Moscow, were also approved.

The SCO DC was established in accordance with the decision of the SCO Council of Heads of State. It is a non-governmental structure that brings together the most authoritative representatives of the business community of the SCO member states with the aim of expanding economic cooperation within the organization, establishing direct ties and dialogue between the business and financial circles of the SCO countries, promoting the practical promotion of multilateral projects identified by the heads of government in the "Program trade and economic cooperation”.

The supreme body of the SCO BC is the annual session, which determines priorities and develops the main directions of its activities, resolves the most important issues of relations with business associations of other states.

The SCO DC is an independent structure capable of making recommendatory decisions and providing expert assessments on promising areas involvement of representatives of the business community of the SCO member states in trade, economic and investment interaction within the organization.

A feature of the SCO BC is that among the priority areas of interstate cooperation, along with energy, transport, telecommunications, credit and banking, the council highlights the interaction of the SCO countries in the field of education, science and innovative technologies, healthcare and agriculture.

Relying on the dynamism and interest of the business community, the SCO BC closely cooperates with ministries and departments of the economic bloc of governments, in no way replacing their work.

During the Shanghai Summit in June 2006, the heads of state emphasized the importance of establishing the SCO BC for the further development of the organization and expressed confidence that it would become an effective mechanism for promoting business partnership throughout the SCO.

In 2006, special working groups were formed responsible for the development of cooperation in the field of healthcare and education, as well as interaction within the framework of the creation of the SCO Energy Club.

At the moment, a special working group on health care is selecting projects to create a structure within the SCO similar to World Organization health care (working title - WHO SCO), which would work towards improving medical care in the member states of the organization, developing a preventive focus in healthcare, and meeting the needs of the population in high-tech types of medical care.

The main projects are considered to provide assistance to the population through:

— compulsory and voluntary medical insurance;

— liquidation and overcoming the consequences of emergency situations (through the creation of a joint Center for Disaster Medicine);

– prevention of the spread of infectious diseases (bird flu, SARS) and tuberculosis;

— introduction of a special high-tech program "Telemedicine" for the population of hard-to-reach and remote areas;

— creation of a system of feldsher-obstetric stations (FAP);

— creation of recreational areas and balneological resorts on the territory of the SCO member states, primarily in Russia, Kazakhstan, China and Kyrgyzstan.

In the field of education, the relevant working group is considering a program to form a kind of dispatch platform within existing national universities to coordinate the efforts of groups of universities in each of the SCO countries to train students and retrain specialists for various sectors of the economy. The development of cooperation in this area will contribute to mutual understanding and cultural and humanitarian interaction, further modernization of the branches of science and education of the Member States.

On August 16, 2007, the SCO Business Council and the SCO Interbank Association signed a cooperation agreement in order to stimulate effective business ties within the SCO and help achieve economic goals.

The activity of the SCO DC is one of the components of the work of the state structures of the countries of the organization in the implementation of the List of measures for further development project activities within the framework of the SCO for the period 2012-2016, which determine the priority areas of economic cooperation for the coming decade.

Today, our planet has more than 250 states, on the territory of which more than 7 billion people live. For the successful conduct of business in all spheres of society, various organizations, membership in which gives the participating countries advantages and support from other states.

One of them - Shanghai Organization cooperation (SCO). This is a Eurasian political, economic and military formation, which was established in 2001 by the leaders of the states of the Shanghai Five founded in 1996, which at that time included China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan. After the entry of Uzbekistan, the organization was renamed.

From the Shanghai Five to the SCO - how was it?

As mentioned above, the SCO is a commonwealth of states, the basis for the creation of which was the signing in Chinese Shanghai in April 1996 of the Treaty officially establishing the deepening of military confidence on the borders of states between Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, as well as the conclusion between by the same states after a year of the Treaty, which reduces the number of armed forces in the border areas.

Since then, the organization's summits have been held every year. In 1998, the capital of Kazakhstan, Alma-Ata, in 1999, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, became a platform for meetings of the participating countries. In 2000, the leaders of the five countries met in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan.

The following year, the annual summit was again held in Shanghai, China, where the five turned into the six thanks to Uzbekistan joining it. Therefore, if you want to know exactly which countries are members of the SCO, we summarize: now the organization has six countries as full-fledged members: these are Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

In the summer of 2001, in June, all six heads of the above states signed a Declaration on the establishment of the organization, in which the positive role of the Shanghai Five was noted, and the desire of the leaders of the countries to move cooperation within its framework to a higher level was expressed. In 2001, on July 16, the two leading SCO countries - Russia and China - signed the Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation.

Almost a year later, the meeting of the heads of the countries participating in the organization took place in St. Petersburg. During it, the SCO Charter was signed, containing the goals and principles that the organization still adheres to. It also spells out the structure and form of work, and the document itself is officially approved in accordance with international law.

Today, the SCO member states occupy more than half of the Eurasian landmass. And the population of these countries is one quarter of the world's population. If we take the observer states into account, then the inhabitants of the SCO countries are half the population of our planet, which was noted at the July 2005 summit in Astana. It was visited for the first time by representatives of India, Mongolia, Pakistan and Iran. This fact was noted in his welcoming speech by Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan, the host country of that year's summit. If you want to have an accurate idea of ​​how the SCO countries are geographically located, a map showing this clearly is presented below.

SCO initiatives and cooperation with other organizations

In 2007, more than twenty large-scale projects related to the transport system, energy, and telecommunications were initiated. Regular meetings were held at which issues related to security, military affairs, defense, foreign policy, economy, culture, banking and all other issues raised during the discussion by officials representing the SCO countries were discussed. The list was not limited by anything: any topics that, in the opinion of the meeting participants, required public attention, became the subject of discussion.

In addition, relations with other international communities have been established. This is where the SCO is an observer of the General Assembly, the European Union (EU), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN from the English Association of South-East Asian Nations), the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). In 2015, Ufa, the capital of the Russian Republic of Bashkortostan, is scheduled to host a summit of the SCO and BRICS, one of the goals of which is to establish business and partnership relations between these two organizations.

Structure

The supreme body of the organization is the Council of Heads of State. They make decisions as part of the work of the community. The meetings take place at summits held annually in one of the capitals of the member countries. On the this moment the Presidents of the Council of Heads of State are: Kyrgyzstan - Almazbek Atambaev, China - Xi Jinping, Uzbekistan - Islam Karimov, Kazakhstan - Nursultan Nazarbayev, Russia - Vladimir Putin and Tajikistan -

The Council of Heads of Government is the second most important body in the SCO, holding annual summits, discussing issues related to multilateral cooperation, and approving the organization's budget.

The Council of Foreign Ministers also holds meetings on a regular basis, where they talk about the current international situation. In addition, the topic of conversation is interaction with other organizations. On the eve of the Ufa summit, relations between the SCO and BRICS are of particular interest.

The Council of National Coordinators, as its name implies, coordinates the multilateral cooperation of states, regulated by the SCO charter.

The secretariat has the functions of the main executive body in the community. They implement organizational decisions and decrees, prepare draft documents (declarations, programs). It also acts as a documentary depository, organizes specific events at which the SCO member countries work, and promotes the dissemination of information about the organization and its activities. The secretariat is located in Beijing, the capital of China. His current CEO- Dmitry Fedorovich Mezentsev, member of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation.

The headquarters of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) is located in the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent. It is a permanent body main function which is to develop cooperation against terrorism, separatism and extremism, which is actively pursued by the SCO organization. The head of this structure is elected for a three-year term, each member state of the community has the right to send a permanent representative from their country to the antiterrorist structure.

Security Cooperation

The SCO countries actively carry out activities in the field of security, focusing primarily on the problems of its provision to the member states. This is especially relevant today with regard to the danger that SCO members in Central Asia may be exposed to. As mentioned earlier, the tasks of the organization include countering terrorism, separatism and extremism.

At the June 2004 SCO summit, held in the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) was established and subsequently created. In April 2006, the organization issued a statement announcing the planned fight against cross-border drug crime through counter-terrorism operations. At the same time, it was announced that the SCO is not a military bloc, and the organization is not going to be one, but the increased threat of such phenomena as terrorism, extremism and separatism makes it impossible to ensure security without the full involvement of the armed forces.

In the autumn of 2007, in October, an agreement was signed with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. The purpose of this was to expand cooperation on security issues, the fight against crime and drug trafficking. A joint action plan between the organizations was approved in Beijing in early 2008.

In addition, the SCO actively opposes cyber warfare, stating that disseminated information that harms the spiritual, moral and cultural spheres of other countries should also be considered a security threat. In accordance with the definition of the term “information war” adopted in 2009, such actions are interpreted as an act of undermining the political, economic and social system of another state by one state.

Cooperation of members of the organization in the military sphere

In recent years, the organization has been active, the goals of which are close military cooperation, the fight against terrorism and the exchange of intelligence information.

During this time, the SCO members have held a number of joint military exercises: the first was held in 2003 in two stages, first in Kazakhstan and then in China. Since that time, large-scale military exercises have been held by Russia and China under the auspices of the SCO in 2005, 2007 (“Peace Mission-2007”) and 2009.

More than 4,000 Chinese soldiers took part in a 2007 joint military exercise in the Chelyabinsk region, agreed a year earlier during a meeting of SCO defense ministers. During them, both high-precision weapons and precision weapons were actively used. The then Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Sergei Ivanov, announced that the exercises were transparent and open to the public and the media. Their successful completion prompted the Russian authorities to expand cooperation, therefore, in the future, Russia invited India to become a participant in such exercises under the auspices of the SCO.

The "Peace Mission 2010" military exercise, held at the Kazakh Matybulak training ground in September 2010, brought together more than 5,000 Chinese, Russian, Kazakhstani, Kyrgyz and Tajik military personnel who conducted exercises together regarding operational maneuvers and planning military operations.

The SCO is a platform for important military announcements made by member states. Thus, during the Russian exercise in 2007, during a meeting of the leaders of the countries, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russian strategic bombers were resuming their flights in order to patrol the territory for the first time since " cold war».

SCO activities in the economy

In addition to membership in the SCO, the composition of the countries of the organization, with the exception of China, is included in the Eurasian Economic Community. The signing by the SCO states, which translates economic cooperation into new level happened in September 2003. In the same place, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao proposed in the future to work on the creation of a free trade zone on the territory of the SCO countries, as well as to take other measures to improve the flow of goods within it. This proposal resulted in the signing in 2004 of a plan of 100 concrete actions.

In October 2005, a Moscow meeting at highest level was marked by a statement by the Secretary General that the SCO organization will pay priority attention to joint energy projects, including both the oil and gas sector and the joint use of water resources and the development of new hydrocarbon reserves. Also at this summit, the creation of the SCO Interbank Council was approved, whose task was to finance future joint projects. Its first meeting was held in Chinese Beijing in February 2006, and in November of the same year it became known about the development of Russian plans for the so-called "SCO Energy Club". The need for its creation was confirmed at the November 2007 summit, however, with the exception of Russia, no one undertook to implement this idea, but at the August 2008 summit it was approved.

The 2007 summit went down in history thanks to the initiative of Iranian Vice President Parviz Davoudi, who said that the SCO is a great place to design a new banking system independent of international ones.

At the June 2009 summit in Yekaterinburg, which the SCO and BRICS countries (at that time still BRIC) held at the same time, the Chinese authorities announced the allocation of a $10 billion loan to members of the organization in order to strengthen their economies in the context of the global financial crisis .

Activities of the countries in the SCO in the field of culture

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, in addition to political, military and economic activities, is also actively engaged in cultural activities. The first meeting of the ministers of culture of the SCO countries took place in the Chinese capital Beijing in April 2002. During it, a joint statement was signed confirming the continuation of cooperation in this area.

Under the auspices of the SCO in Astana in 2005, along with the next summit, for the first time an art festival and an exhibition were held. Kazakhstan also made a proposal to hold a folk dance festival under the auspices of the organization. The proposal was accepted and the festival was held in Astana in 2008.

About holding summits

In accordance with the signed Charter, the SCO meeting at the Council of Heads of State is held every year in different cities of the participating countries. The document also says that the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) holds a summit once a year on the territory of the member states of the organization in a place determined in advance by its members. The Council of Foreign Ministers meets a month before the annual summit held by the heads of state. If it is necessary to convene an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, it can be organized at the initiative of any two participating States.

Who can join the SCO in the future?

In the summer of 2010, the procedure for accepting new members was approved, but so far none of those wishing to join the organization has become a full member of the organization. However, some of these states were participants in the SCO summits in the status of observers. And they expressed their interest in joining the main team. Thus, in the future, Iran and Armenia may become members of the SCO. The latter, represented by Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, during a meeting with a colleague from China, expressed interest in obtaining observer status in the Shanghai International Organization.

SCO observers

Today, potential countries of the SCO and BRICS are in this status in the organization. Afghanistan, for example, received it at the Beijing summit in 2012. India also acts as an observer and Russia, seeing in it one of the most important future strategic partners, called on it to become full member SCO. This Russian initiative supported by China.

Iran, which was supposed to become a full participant in March 2008, also acts as an observer. However, the sanctions imposed by the UN caused a temporary blocking of the procedure for the admission of the country to the SCO. The observer countries include Mongolia and Pakistan. The latter also seeks to join the organization. The Russian side openly supports this aspiration.

Dialogue Partnership

The regulation on dialogue partners appeared in 2008. It is set out in Article 14 of the Charter. It treats the dialogue partner as a state or international organization which shares the principles and goals pursued by the SCO, and is also interested in establishing relations of mutually beneficial and equal partnership.

Such countries are Belarus and Sri Lanka, which received this status in 2009, during the summit in Yekaterinburg. In 2012, during the Beijing summit, Turkey joined the dialogue partners.

Cooperation with Western countries

Most Western observers are of the opinion that the SCO should create a counterbalance to the United States and to prevent possible conflicts that allow the United States to interfere in internal politics neighboring countries - Russia and China. America tried to get observer status in the organization, but her application was rejected in 2006.

At the 2005 summit in Astana, in connection with the military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the uncertain situation regarding the presence of US military forces in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, the organization put forward a demand for US authorities on setting deadlines for the withdrawal of troops from the states that are members of the SCO. After that, Uzbekistan voiced a request to close the K-2 air base on its territory.

Although the organization did not make any direct critical statements regarding US foreign policy actions and its presence in the region, some indirect statements at recent meetings were interpreted by Western media as criticism of Washington's actions.

Geopolitics of the SCO

AT recent times the geopolitical nature of the organization also becomes an object for comments and discussions.

The theory says that the control of Eurasia is the key to world domination, and the ability to control the countries of Central Asia gives the power to control the Eurasian continent. Knowing which countries are members of the SCO, we can say that, despite the stated goals regarding the fight against extremism and improving the security of border areas, the organization, according to experts, seeks to balance the activities of America and NATO in Central Asia .

In the fall of 2005, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that the organization was working to create a just and rational world order and the formation of a fundamentally new model of geopolitical integration. This activity is carried out as actively as the work relating to other spheres of society.

Chinese media reports that, in accordance with the SCO Declaration, its members are obliged to ensure security in the region, and therefore they call on Western countries not to interfere in its affairs. In other words, Asian countries are uniting in order to create a worthy alternative to European international communities and build their own international community independent of the West.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization or SCO is a Eurasian political, economic and military organization, which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. With the exception of Uzbekistan, the rest of the countries were members of the Shanghai Five, founded in 1996; after the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the member countries renamed the organization.

The Shanghai Five was originally established on 26 April 1996 with the signing of the Treaty on Deepening Military Confidence in Border Areas in Shanghai by the heads of state of Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. On April 24, 1997, the same countries signed the Treaty on the Reduction of Armed Forces in the Border Area at a meeting in Moscow.

Subsequent annual summits of the group's Shanghai Five were held in Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan) in 1998, in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) in 1999 and in Dushanbe (Tajikistan) in 2000.

In 2001, the annual summit returned to Shanghai, China. There, the member countries of the five accepted Uzbekistan into the Shanghai Five (thus turning it into the Shanghai Six). Then, on June 15, 2001, all six heads of state signed the Declaration on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, noting the positive role of the Shanghai Five and striving to move it to a higher level of cooperation. On July 16, 2001, Russia and China, the two leading countries of this organization, signed the Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation.

In June 2002, the heads of the SCO member states met in St. Petersburg, Russia. There they signed the SCO Charter, which contained the goals of the organization, principles, structure and form of work, and officially approved it from the point of view of international law.

The six full members of the SCO account for 60% of the land mass of Eurasia, and its population is a quarter of the world's population. Taking into account the observer states, the population of the SCO countries makes up half of the world's population.

In July 2005, at the fifth summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, with representatives from India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan attending the SCO summit for the first time, President Nursultan Nazarbayev of the host country greeted the guests with words that had never before been used in any context: “Leaders of State sitting at this negotiating table are representatives of half of humanity.

By 2007, the SCO had initiated more than twenty large-scale projects related to transport, energy and telecommunications and held regular meetings on security, military affairs, defense, foreign affairs, economy, culture, banking issues and other issues that were raised officials member states.

The SCO has established relations with the United Nations, where it is an observer in the General Assembly, the European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Structure of the SCO

The Council of Heads of State is the highest decision-making body within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. This council meets at the SCO summits, which are held every year in one of the capital cities of the member states. The current Council of Heads of State consists of the following members: Almazbek Atambaev (Kyrgyzstan), Xi Jinping (China), Islam Karimov (Uzbekistan), Nursultan Nazarbayev (Kazakhstan), Vladimir Putin (Russia), Emomali Rahmon (Tajikistan).

The Council of Heads of Government is the second most important body in the SCO. This council also holds annual summits where its members discuss issues of multilateral cooperation. The Council also approves the organization's budget. The Council of Foreign Ministers also hold regular meetings where they discuss the current international situation and the interaction of the SCO with other international organizations.

The Council of National Coordinators, as its name implies, coordinates the multilateral cooperation of member states within the framework of the SCO charter.

The SCO Secretariat is the main executive body of the organization. It serves to implement organizational decisions and decrees, prepare draft documents (for example, declarations and programs), is endowed with the functions of a documentary depository for the organization, organizes specific events within the SCO, and promotes and disseminates information about the SCO. It is located in Beijing. The current SCO Secretary-General is Muratbek Imanaliev of Kyrgyzstan, a former Kyrgyz foreign minister and professor at the American University of Central Asia.

The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is a permanent body of the SCO that serves to promote cooperation among member states against the three evils of terrorism, separatism and extremism. The head of the RATS is elected for a term of three years. Each member state also sends a permanent representative of the RATS.

Cooperation of the SCO countries in the field of security

The activities of the Shanghai Security Cooperation Organization are primarily focused on the security problems of member countries in Central Asia, which is often described as the main threat. The SCO opposes such phenomena as terrorism, separatism and extremism. However, the activities of the organization in the field social development its member states is also growing rapidly.

On June 16-17, 2004, at the SCO summit, which took place in Tashkent, the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) was created in Uzbekistan. On April 21, 2006, the SCO announced plans to combat cross-border drug crime through counter-terrorism operations. In April 2006, he stated that the SCO had no plans to become a military bloc, however, he argued that the heightened threats of "terrorism, extremism and separatism" made it necessary to involve the armed forces in full.

In October 2007, the SCO signed an agreement with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in the Tajik capital Dushanbe in order to expand cooperation on issues such as security, combating crime and drug trafficking. Joint plans actions between the two organizations were approved in early 2008 in Beijing.

The organization also spoke out against cyber wars, stating that the dissemination of information harmful to the spiritual, moral and cultural spheres of other states should be considered a "security threat". According to the definition adopted in 2009, "information warfare", in particular, is regarded as an attempt by one state to undermine the political, economic and social system another state.

Military activities of the SCO

In the past few years, the activities of the organization have been aimed at close military cooperation, the exchange of intelligence information and the fight against terrorism.

The SCO countries held a number of joint military exercises. The first of them took place in 2003: the first phase took place in Kazakhstan, and the second - in China. Since then, China and Russia have joined forces to hold large-scale military exercises in 2005 (Peace Mission 2005), 2007 and 2009 under the auspices of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

More than 4,000 Chinese soldiers took part in a joint military exercise in 2007 (known as "Peace Mission 2007"), which was held in Chelyabinsk Russia near the Ural Mountains and was agreed upon in April 2006 at a meeting of SCO defense ministers. The Air Force and precision weapons were also used. The then Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said the exercises were transparent and open to the media and the public. After the successful completion of the exercises, Russian officials invited India to also participate in similar exercises in the future under the auspices of the SCO. More than 5,000 military personnel from China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan took part in the exercise "Peace Mission 2010", held on September 9-25, 2010 in Kazakhstan at the Matybulak training ground. They conducted joint planning of military operations and operational maneuvers. The SCO acts as a platform for larger military statements by member states. For example, during a 2007 exercise in Russia, at a meeting with the leaders of the SCO member states, including with the participation of then Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Vladimir Putin took the opportunity to announce the resumption of regular flights of Russian strategic bombers to patrol the territories for the first time since the Cold War. "Beginning with today, such flights will have to be carried out regularly and on a strategic scale,” Putin said. “Our pilots have been on the ground for too long. They are happy to start a new life.”

SCO economic cooperation

All members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, except China, are also members of the Eurasian economic community. The framework agreement for enhancing economic cooperation was signed by the SCO member states on September 23, 2003. At the same meeting in China, Premier Wen Jiabao proposed the long-term goal of establishing a free trade area in the SCO, and taking other more urgent measures in order to improve the flow of goods in the region. In accordance with this, a plan consisting of 100 specific actions was signed a year later on September 23, 2004.

On October 26, 2005, during the Moscow Summit of the SCO, the Secretary General of the organization stated that the SCO would give priority to joint energy projects, which would include the oil and gas sector, the development of new hydrocarbon reserves and the joint use of water resources. The creation of the SCO Interbank Council was also agreed at this summit in order to finance future joint projects.

The first meeting of the SCO Interbank Association was held in Beijing on February 21-22, 2006. November 30, 2006, as part of international conference SCO: outcomes and prospects, held in Alma-Ata, a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia is developing plans for the "SCO Energy Club". The need to create such a club was confirmed in Moscow at the SCO summit in November 2007. Other SCO members did not commit themselves to implement the idea. However, at the summit on August 28, 2008, it was stated that "against the backdrop of a slowdown in global economic growth, the conduct of a responsible monetary and financial policy, control over capital flows, ensuring food and energy security have become of particular importance."

On June 16, 2009, at the Yekaterinburg summit, China announced plans to provide a $10 billion loan to SCO member states to strengthen the economies of these states in the context of the global financial crisis. The summit was held in conjunction with the first BRIC summit and was marked by a joint Chinese-Russian statement that these countries want a larger quota in the International Monetary Fund.

At the 2007 SCO summit, Iran's Vice President Parviz Davoudi launched an initiative that generated a lot of interest. He then said: "The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a good place to design a new banking system that is independent of international banking systems."

Russian President Vladimir Putin then commented on the situation as follows: “We now clearly see the defectiveness of the monopoly in world finance and the policy of economic selfishness. To solve the current problem, Russia will take part in changing the global financial structure so that it can guarantee stability and prosperity in the world and ensure progress ... The world is witnessing the emergence of a qualitatively different geopolitical situation, with the emergence of new centers of economic growth and political influence… We will witness and take part in the transformation of global and regional security systems and the development of an architecture adapted to the new realities of the 21st century, when stability and prosperity become inseparable concepts.”

Cultural cooperation of the SCO

Cultural cooperation also takes place within the framework of the SCO. The ministers of culture of the SCO countries met for the first time in Beijing on April 12, 2002 and signed a joint statement to continue cooperation. The third meeting of ministers of culture was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on 27-28 April 2006.

The art festival and exhibition under the auspices of the SCO took place for the first time during the 2005 Astana Summit. Kazakhstan also offered to hold a folk dance festival under the auspices of the SCO. Such a festival was held in 2008 in Astana.

Summits of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

According to the SCO Charter, summits of the Council of Heads of State are held annually in different places. The venue for these summits follows the alphabetical order of the name of the Member State in Russian. The charter also specifies that the summit of the Council of Heads of Government (i.e., Prime Ministers) meets annually at a place previously determined by decision of the members of the council. The Council of Foreign Ministers Summit is held one month before the annual Heads of State Summit. Extraordinary meetings of the Council of Foreign Ministers may be convened by any two Member States.

Future possible members of the SCO

In June 2010, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization approved the procedure for admitting new members, although no new members have yet been accepted. Several states, however, have attended SCO summits as observers, some of which have expressed interest in becoming full members of the organization in the future. The prospect of Iran joining the organization has attracted academic attention. In early September 2013, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan stated during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart that Armenia would like to receive observer status in the SCO.

SCO observers

Afghanistan received observer status in 2012 at the SCO summit in Beijing, China on June 6, 2012. India currently also has observer status in the SCO. Russia has called on India to join this organization as a full member because it sees India as an important future strategic partner. China "welcomed" India's accession to the SCO.

Iran currently has observer status in the organization and was scheduled to become a full member of the SCO on March 24, 2008. However, due to sanctions imposed by the United Nations, the admission of Iran to the organization as a new member is temporarily blocked. The SCO stated that any country under UN sanctions cannot be admitted to the organization. Mongolia became the first country to receive observer status at the 2004 Tashkent Summit. Pakistan, India and Iran received observer status at the SCO summit in Astana, Kazakhstan on July 5, 2005.

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf spoke in favor of his country joining the SCO as a full member during a joint summit in China in 2006. Russia publicly supported Pakistan's intention to gain full membership in the SCO, and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made a corresponding statement at the SCO meeting in the Konstantinovsky Palace on November 6, 2011.

SCO Dialogue Partners

The position of dialogue partner was created in 2008 in accordance with Article 14 of the SCO Charter of June 7, 2002. This article concerns a dialogue partner as a state or organization that shares the goals and principles of the SCO and wishes to establish relations of equal and mutually beneficial partnership with the Organization.

Belarus received dialogue partner status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in 2009 at the group's summit in Yekaterinburg. Belarus applied for observer status in the organization and was promised the support of Kazakhstan in achieving this goal. However, the then Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov expressed doubts about the possible membership of Belarus, saying that Belarus is purely European country. Despite this, Belarus was accepted as a dialogue partner at the SCO summit in 2009.

Sri Lanka received dialogue partner status in the SCO in 2009 at the group's summit in Yekaterinburg. Turkey, a member of NATO, was granted dialogue partner status in the SCO in 2012 at the group's summit in Beijing. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he even jokingly discussed the possibility of Turkey refusing to join the European Union in exchange for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Relations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization with the West

Western media observers believe that one of the first goals of the SCO should be to create a counterweight to NATO and the US, in particular to avoid conflicts that would allow the US to interfere in the internal affairs of countries bordering Russia and China. Although Iran is not a member, former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad used the SCO platform to launch a verbal attack on the United States. The United States submitted an application for observer status with the SCO, but it was rejected in 2006.

At the Astana summit in July 2005, due to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and uncertainty about the presence of US troops in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, the SCO called on the US to set a timetable for the withdrawal of its troops from SCO member states. Shortly thereafter, Uzbekistan asked the US to close the K-2 air base.

The SCO has not yet made any direct statements against the US or its military presence in the region. However, some indirect statements at recent summits have been presented in the Western media as veiled criticism of Washington.

Geopolitical aspects of the SCO

In recent years, there have been many discussions and comments about the geopolitical nature of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Matthew Brummer in the Journal of International Affairs, tracks the effects of the expansion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the Persian Gulf.

Iranian writer Hamid Golpira said the following: “According to the theory of Zbigniew Brzezinski, the control of the Eurasian continent is the key to world domination, and the control of Central Asia is the key to control of the Eurasian continent. Russia and China have been paying attention to Brzezinski's theories since they formed the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2001, ostensibly to curb extremism in the region and improve border security, but more likely the real goal was to balance US and NATO activities in Central Asia.

At the 2005 SCO summit in Kazakhstan, the Declaration of the Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was adopted, which expressed their "concern" about the existing world order and contained the principles of the organization's work. It included the following words: “The Heads of Member States note that, against the background of the contradictory process of globalization, multilateral cooperation based on the principles equal rights and mutual respect, non-interference in internal affairs sovereign states, a non-confrontational way of thinking and a consistent movement towards the democratization of international relations, contributes to common peace and security, and call on the international community, regardless of their differences in ideology and social structure, form new concept security based on mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and interaction”.

In November 2005, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed that the SCO was working to create a rational and just world order and that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was providing us unique opportunity take part in the process of formation of a fundamentally new model of geopolitical integration.

The Chinese Daily expressed this issue in the following terms: “The declaration indicates that the SCO member countries have the ability and duty to ensure security in the Central Central Asia. This is the most visible signal that the summit sent to the world.”

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao concluded that the US was maneuvering to maintain its status as the world's sole superpower and not give any other country a chance to create a problem for them.

An article in The Washington Post in early 2008 reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly stated that Russia could send nuclear missiles to Ukraine if Russia's neighbor and former sister republic in the Soviet Union joins the NATO alliance and installs elements of a US missile defense system. “It is terrible to say and even scary to think that, in response to the deployment of such facilities on the territory of Ukraine, which theoretically cannot be ruled out, Russia will aim its missiles at Ukraine,” Putin said at a joint press conference with then Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko. who was visiting the Kremlin. "Imagine, it's just for a second."

The International Federation for Human Rights recognized the SCO " vehicle» for human rights violations.