Following the Tianjin SCO summit held in September 2025, Kyrgyzstan became the next member state to assume the chairmanship of the organisation. Shumkarbek Adilbek uulu, Director of the National Institute for Strategic Initiatives (NISI) under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, explores the initiatives and vision Bishkek brings to the table, assessing what lies ahead for the SCO 25 years after its Shanghai Five predecessor was founded.
Over its 25-year history, the SCO evolved from a regional forum of six states into the world’s largest transregional association. At the 2025 Tianjin summit, the SCO Development Strategy until 2035 was adopted, identifying the comprehensive modernisation of the organisation as its key objective: updating the legal framework, increasing the efficiency of permanent bodies, and shifting from a discussion-based model towards a project-oriented approach. It is precisely at this pivotal moment that the SCO chairmanship passes to the Kyrgyz Republic. The motto “25 Years of the SCO: Together Towards Sustainable Peace, Development, and Prosperity”, proposed by President Sadyr Japarov, sets not only the tone, but also the logic: to look back in order to answer the question of what exactly the organisation must build over the next twenty-five years.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, Jeenbek Kulubaev, described the chairmanship as “a historic task and a great responsibility”, announcing the organisation of more than 30 major events—from security issues to digitalisation. The first, and traditionally central, priority of the Kyrgyz chairmanship is ensuring long-term stability. Within this area, Kyrgyzstan is advancing three specific initiatives: the establishment of an International Centre for Combating Organised Crime in Bishkek; deeper cooperation in combating cybercrime and digital threats; and enhanced coordination in countering terrorism, separatism, and extremism. On 30 March 2026, the 25th meeting of the SCO member states’ expert working group took place in Bishkek, approving protocols on military cooperation, while the April meeting of defence ministers from nine countries formalised the cooperation plan for 2026—2027.
At the same time, Kyrgyzstan’s most significant contribution to regional security has not been institutional, but rather a political breakthrough. On 13 March 2025, a historic agreement on the delimitation of the state border with Tajikistan was signed, bringing to an end decades of tension in the Ferghana Valley. The decisive factor behind this success was the political will of President Sadyr Japarov: direct contacts at the highest level, and the mechanism of “targeted neutrality”—the jointly agreed use of disputed areas without unilateral advantage for either side. On 31 March 2025, a trilateral summit of the presidents of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan was held in Khujand: for the first time in history, the leaders agreed upon the junction point of the three state borders and signed the “Khujand Declaration on Eternal Friendship”. On 9 September 2025, an international jury awarded the Leo Tolstoy International Peace Prize to the three presidents for this achievement.
The second priority of the chairmanship—realising the potential of economic cooperation—primarily envisages the creation of an independent SCO financial architecture. Kyrgyzstan has consistently promoted the establishment of an SCO Development Bank and the organisation’s investment fund—mechanisms without which the SCO’s declared project ambitions remain unrealised. In November 2025, at the meeting of the Council of Heads of Government in Bishkek, a number of decisions were adopted, including the SCO budget for 2026 and a roadmap for social development for 2026—2028. Kyrgyzstan’s principled position is that the SCO must move from the stage of being an “organisation of agreements” to becoming an “organisation of implementation”. According to SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev, the summit in Bishkek—which is scheduled to coincide with the organisation’s anniversary—will become a platform for updating the SCO Strategy—with an emphasis on concrete mechanisms for project financing and implementation.
The transport dimension of the chairmanship flows naturally from Kyrgyzstan’s infrastructural position: the landlocked country is transforming itself into the “logistical core” of Central Eurasia. The construction of the China—Kyrgyzstan—Uzbekistan railway route, extending over more than 500 kilometres and involving investments of approximately 4.7 billion US dollars, is the flagship infrastructure project of the chairmanship cycle. Implementation of the project began in December 2024: the railway will run from Kashgar through the Torugart Pass and Jalal-Abad to Andijan, linking the Chinese and Central Asian transport networks. In parallel, Kyrgyzstan is advancing the transport agenda within the SCO itself: the creation of new logistical routes and the effective use of the transit potential of member states have been included among the official priorities of the chairmanship. In April 2026, the Ministry of Transport of the Kyrgyz Republic agreed with the Russian side on the launch of a corridor through the Caspian Sea—a route linking Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, the Turkmen port of Turkmenbashi, and Russian ports, complementing the North—South corridor.
The Valdai Discussion Club was established in 2004. It is named after Lake Valdai, which is located close to Veliky Novgorod, where the Club’s first meeting took place.
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