The upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China, is set to be a major international event, with Chinese President Xi Jinping extending invitations to numerous world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The summit, taking place on August 31st and September 1st, will aim to present a cooperative model for the region, contrasting with Western approaches. This summit is slated to be the most extensive in SCO history, with 20 global leaders expected to attend. Xi Jinping will lead the 25th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State and is organizing both bilateral meetings and a welcome banquet for participants. Prime Minister Modi’s participation is particularly noteworthy, as he has received a personal invitation from President Xi. India, a SCO member since 2017, which also held the council chair in 2022-23, is expected to engage in discussions with various heads of state. The SCO consists of China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus. The summit highlights the growing importance of the SCO as an alternative to the Western-dominated NATO, especially in Central Asia. The involvement of India is also relevant, given the evolving dynamics with the US. Additional attendees will include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Min Chinh, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, and Maldives President Mohammad Muizzu. Also invited is Myanmar’s military chief Min Aung Hlaing. The summit will also include representatives from international organizations, among them UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev.
