The 2026 Bishkek Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) highlights the bloc’s growing ambition, marking its 25th anniversary with initiatives on counterterrorism, cybercrime, and infrastructure connectivity. India’s role since joining in 2017 has been to push for frameworks against terrorism, promote civilizational dialogue, and diversify SCO’s agenda through innovation corridors and cultural exchanges. India also seeks to leverage SCO for energy security, counter‑radicalization, and environmental sustainability. Yet challenges persist: limited connectivity, stalled projects like INSTC, and asymmetric trade with Central Asia compared to China. India must balance its Western partnerships with SCO’s anti‑Western leanings while navigating tensions with Pakistan and China. Despite these obstacles, India’s proactive engagement enhances its visibility and influence in Eurasia, positioning it as a constructive stakeholder in shaping SCO’s future trajectory.
Introduction
Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, is hosting the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit under its 2026 Chairmanship, culminating with the Heads of State meetings on August 31- September 1, 2026 and which India’s Prime minister Modi is slated to attend. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the grouping under the motto, “25 years of the SCO: Together Towards Sustainable Peace, Development and Prosperity.” Origin of SCO can be traced back to its initial bloc of “Shanghai Five” consisting of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, in 1996. In its present form, SCO was constituted in 2001 with the addition of Uzbekistan, making it a grouping of six countries. In 2017, India and Pakistan joined SCO making the entry of South Asian region into the SCO fold. Iran joined in 2023 and was followed up by Belarus in 2024 and thus making SCO as a 10-member bloc in its present composition. Combined, SCO grouping, constitutes roughly 25% of the world’s area, 45% of world’s population, nominal GDP around 23%, and GDP based on PPP at approximately 36% of the world’s total.
Major takeaways from the 2025 Tianjin SCO summit
Tianjin SCO summit took place in September 2025, wherein SCO as the world’s largest trans-regional association, identified SCO Development Strategy until 2035. It envisaged comprehensive modernization of the organization, improvisation of the legal framework, increase in the efficiency of permanent bodies, and in opting a more compact project-oriented practical mechanism. Emphasis was also laid on security-related issues such as terrorism, separatism, and extremism; human trafficking, weapon trafficking, drug trafficking, intelligence sharing, measures on counter terrorism, joint military exercise in peace keeping operations, etc. For enhancing energy security, SCO initiated viable joint energy projects in oil, natural gas, exploration of new hydrocarbon reserves, joint use of water resources. With an initial grant of USD$10 billion loan from China to other SCO member states, SCO Interbank Consortium was mooted for the affected countries due to the aftereffects of the 2008 Asian Financial Crisis.
Agenda for 2026 Bishkek Summit
Bishkek 2026 summit has set agenda for specific initiatives such as: the establishment of an International Centre for combating Organized Crime; deeper cooperation in tackling cybercrime and digital threats; enhanced cooperation in countering cases of terrorism, separatism, and extremism; creation of an independent SCO financial architecture in the form of SCO Development Bank. For bolstering of Kazakhstan’s transport infrastructure, which is a land locked country, high-end initiatives have been launched. The construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway route, extending over 500 kilometers and involving of approximately USD$4.7 billion, is the flagship infrastructure initiative of the Bishkek summit. Implementation of the project began in December 2024 and the railway corridor is to run from Kashgar through the Torugart Pass and Jalalabad to Andijan, linking Chinese and Central Asian transport networks. In tandem, Kyrgyzstan is advancing the transport agenda within the SCO itself with the creation of new logistical cargo routes and for effective use of the transit potential of member states. In April 2026, the Ministry of Trasport of the Kyrgyzstan coordinated with the Russian counterpart on the launch of a dedicated corridor through the Caspian Sea, a route linking Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, the Turkman port of Turkmenbashi, and Russian ports, complementing the North-South Corridor. It runs over 1,100 kilometers eastward through Ashgabat towards Turkmenabat connecting Central Asia to Caspian maritime network.
Scope of India’s engagements in SCO mission and objectives
India since its official joining the SCO bloc in 2017 has promoted and facilitated various tangible measures. These include: devising anti-terror frameworks with mutual accountability, developing principle of ‘zero tolerance and no double standards’, making counter terrorism as an important cornerstone of regional security architecture and making it credible and resilient, instituting a ‘Civilizational Dialogue Forum”, build on G-20 Delhi 2023 summit motto of “One Earth, One Family, and One Future”, institutionalize increased cultural interaction and people-to-people exchanges, promoting Buddhist heritage, cultural festivals and fostering mutual understanding, establishing an “SCO Start-Up and Innovation Corridor”.
Such initiatives by India would diversify and amplify SCO’s economic agenda beyond traditional energy and trade, positioning India as a key driver of modern knowledge-based economic integration and creating new avenues for youth employment and collaboration. India also emphasizes on diversifying strategic partnerships with the SCO engagement in bilateral and mini-lateral frameworks on issues of shared interests such as energy security, counter-narcotics supply, and regional stability; sovereignty-centric connectivity projects and prioritization of measures that are inclusive and beneficial for all member states of SCO. India’s leadership in regional connectivity and infrastructure projects; operationalizing a counter-radicalization initiative to people-dedicated actionable framework within the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) for curbing radicalization and external ideologies; promoting a unified SCO Voice on environmental sustainability through joint research and development, technology transfer, adoption of green and clean technologies, etc., can also be leveraged for SCO grouping’s overall development.
Challenges for India
In spite of ambitious projects being launched by SCO, important challenges do remain. Limited connectivity and border tensions within the SCO bloc including India’s continuing wariness over the strategic implications of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). India’s push for the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a multi-modal network of ship, rail, and road routes connecting India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia, and Europe remain stalled due to geographical tensions and bureaucratic procrastinations. If INSTC becomes operational, it has the potential of cutting transit times by 40% and costs by 30% compared to the Suez Canal route. Similarly, India would like see movement on IPI (Iran-Pakistan-India) pipeline and TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) pipeline projects in a timely manner. Challenges in forging multilateral cooperation in Afghanistan remain with India advocating for an “Afghan-led, Afghan-owned, and Afghan-controlled peace process and SCO’s lack of consensus on Afghanistan issue. SCO’s inability in finding consensus and in addressing SCO’s Economic Agenda is also a dampener. India’s trade with Central Asia remains less than 0.5% of India’s total trade, amounting to around UD$ 2 billion in contrast to China’s trade with the Central Asian region at about USD$ 100 billion and thus making trade equation of both countries largely asymmetric. India also faces a delicate balancing act as Russia continues to be a special, privileged and strategic partner of India while there is growing engagement of competitive diplomacy with China at various levels. India’s participation in Western-led groups such as Quad, I2U2, IMEEC, etc., are at odds with some countries within the SCO bloc having anti-western policy orientations.
Relevance
The SCO’s relevance in a turbulent world—marked by the Ukraine war and Middle Eastern crises—faces serious tests. Its promise of collective security and connectivity is undermined by internal rivalries, lack of consensus on Afghanistan, and divergent geopolitical alignments. While SCO projects like the China‑Kyrgyzstan‑Uzbekistan railway showcase ambition, they remain overshadowed by the bloc’s inability to reconcile competing interests, particularly between India, China, and Pakistan. In an era of fractured multilateralism, SCO risks becoming more symbolic than functional, struggling to deliver tangible outcomes beyond rhetoric.
Yet, the SCO’s demographic weight, counterterrorism frameworks, and Eurasian connectivity initiatives ensure it cannot be dismissed outright. For India, the SCO remains a double‑edged platform: it amplifies India’s outreach to Central Asia but also exposes it to asymmetries vis‑à‑vis China and contradictions with its Western alignments. The test of relevance lies in whether SCO can evolve into a pragmatic, project‑driven institution or remain a geopolitical talking shop.
Conclusion
Overall, SCO’s core internal strengths remain intact. These include: vast geographical outreach, robust counter terrorism cooperation, tackling internal rivalries, massive demographic and economic weight, institutional security frameworks, geopolitical initiatives in the Eurasian affairs, intra-institutional regulatory mechanism, Eurasian connectivity, etc. In contemporary geopolitics, existing multilateral forums hardly reflect the stark economic and power realities of the fast-changing world order. In spite of it, India’s proactive participation and involvement enhance its global outreach including with Central Asian nations by expanding its viability and visibility in SCO. And, India does and exercise its leverage and responsibility through enduring trust, solidarity and friendship, robust cooperation, instilling peace and stability, and by supporting a fair, just and equitable global order.
For India, SCO is less about ideological alignment and more about strategic utility. In changed circumstances, its relevance lies in India’s ability to use the forum to push connectivity, counterterrorism, and cultural diplomacy while hedging against Chinese dominance. If SCO adapts to deliver concrete results, India stands to gain visibility and leverage in Eurasia. If not, India risks expending diplomatic energy in a bloc that offers limited returns. In short: SCO matters for India only if it moves from symbolism to substance.
*The writer of former Director of Research; Professor and Head, Department of Political Science, Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, India.
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