Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

Many lands work together in a big group.

This group is called the SCO.

It started with five lands. Later, more lands joined the team. Now, ten lands are members.

They help each other with trade. They also work to keep things safe.

This group covers a huge part of the world.

It is the largest group of its kind. It helps many people live together. This group works hard every year.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, or SCO, is a large group of nations.

It helps ten member states work together. They focus on trade and safety. They also work to stop terrorism. The SCO is a very big group. It covers 24% of the world's land. It also includes 42% of all people.

The group began as the Shanghai Five. In 1996, five nations signed a treaty. These lands were China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. They wanted to fix border issues. In 2001, they added Uzbekistan. This made the group the SCO. Later, more lands joined the team. India and Pakistan joined in 2017. Iran joined in 2023. Belarus joined in 2024.

Leaders meet once a year to make big choices. This top group is the Council of Heads of State. There is also a group in Beijing. It is called the Secretariat. It helps carry out the group's plans. The SCO uses two main languages. These are Chinese and Russian.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, or SCO, is a very large group of nations. It is a political and economic group. It also works on international security. This group is the largest in the world by land and people. It covers 65% of Eurasia. This is at least 24% of the world's total area. It also includes 42% of the world's population.

The group helps its members work together on many things. They focus on trade and stopping terrorism.

The SCO works through several different groups. The highest group is the Council of Heads of State. This group makes the most important decisions. They meet once every year. There is also a Council of Heads of Government. This group discusses how to work together. They also decide on the group's budget.

A permanent office called the Secretariat is in Beijing, China. It helps carry out all the group's plans. The group also has a special part called RATS. This stands for the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure. It is located in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The group started a long time ago as the Shanghai Five. In 1996, five nations signed a treaty. These nations were China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. They wanted to fix issues with their borders. In 1997, they signed another treaty in Moscow, Russia. They wanted to reduce military forces in border areas. In 2001, the group changed and became the SCO. The leaders met in Shanghai to announce this. They added Uzbekistan to the group at that time.

The SCO has grown much larger over the years. In 2017, India and Pakistan joined as full members. Iran joined the group in July 2023. Belarus became a member in July 2024. The group now has ten member states. Some countries are also dialogue partners or observers. The official languages for the SCO are Chinese and Russian.

Leaders like Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have attended meetings. The most recent meeting was in September 2025. It was held in Tianjin, China.

The SCO connects many different parts of the world. It has relations with the United Nations. It also works with groups like ASEAN. The group helps with big projects in energy and transport. These projects help countries talk to each other more easily. It is a way for many different lands to stay connected. This helps them work on shared goals for the future.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, often called the SCO, is a massive Eurasian political and economic group. It also focuses heavily on international security and counter-terrorism. As of 2024, the SCO is the largest regional organization in the world by both land area and population. It covers 65% of Eurasia, which is at least 24% of the entire world's land. It also includes 42% of the total world population.

The group is a major global player in the economy. Its members' combined nominal GDP accounts for about 23% of the world's total. When measured by Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), the group's share rises to approximately 36% of the global total.

The organization operates through a specific hierarchy of governing bodies. The Council of Heads of State (HSC) is the supreme decision-making body. This council meets once every year to make the most important choices for the group. The Council of Heads of Government is the second-highest body. This council also holds annual summits to discuss multilateral cooperation and approve the organization's budget.

Other important groups include the Council of Foreign Ministers and the Council of National Coordinators. The latter helps coordinate cooperation between member states based on the SCO charter. These layers of leadership allow the group to manage complex political and economic tasks.

Two permanent offices handle the daily work of the SCO. The first is the Secretariat, which is headquartered in Beijing, China. The Secretariat is the primary executive body. It implements decisions, drafts documents like agendas, and manages information for the group. The head of this office is the Secretary-General, a position elected for a three-year term. Currently, Nurlan Yermekbayev of Kazakhstan serves as the Secretary-General.

The second permanent body is the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure, known as RATS. RATS is located in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Its Executive Committee works to help member states fight terrorism, separatism, and extremism. The Director of RATS is also elected to a three-year term. As of 2025, Ularbek Sharsheev of Kyrgyzstan holds this position.

The history of the SCO began with a smaller group called the Shanghai Five. This group was formed on April 26, 1996, when five nations signed a treaty in Shanghai. Those nations were China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. Their initial goal was to deepen military trust in border regions. In 1997, they signed another treaty in Moscow to reduce military forces near their borders.

This structure helped the members resolve border disputes and address security threats. In June 2001, the group officially transformed into the SCO. During a meeting in Shanghai, the leaders added Uzbekistan to the new organization. This move aimed to create a higher level of political and economic cooperation.

Since its founding, the SCO has expanded through several stages of membership. In June 2017, the group grew to eight states when India and Pakistan officially joined.

More recently, Iran joined the group in July 2023. Belarus became the newest full member in July 2024. Currently, the SCO consists of ten member states. These include Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Because of different government styles, the prime ministers of India and Pakistan attend the Heads of State summits. This ensures their responsibilities match those of the presidents in other member nations.

Not all countries join as full members right away. The SCO uses different categories to allow more nations to participate. Some countries act as observers, while others are dialogue partners. This system helps manage the group's growth. For example, some nations have applied to be observers or dialogue partners to engage with the summits. This structure prevents the organization from becoming too large or unstable too quickly. It allows for a gradual process of integration for new interested nations.

The SCO also maintains many connections to other international systems. It has established relations with the United Nations, where it serves as an observer in the General Assembly. It also works with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The organization has also built ties with the Economic Cooperation Organization and the African Union's research center on terrorism. These connections help the SCO manage large-scale projects in energy, transportation, and telecommunications. By working with these global entities, the SCO helps connect different parts of the world through shared economic and security goals.