Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and China’s President Xi Jinping are expected to attend a two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, beginning Monday.
The summit will bring together around a dozen heads of state to mark the 25th anniversary of the regional organisation. Leaders from Iran, India and Pakistan are also expected to participate.
The SCO includes Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, four Central Asian countries and Belarus. The organisation has increasingly been used by Moscow and Beijing to promote a multipolar world order and strengthen cooperation outside Western-led alliances.
Putin is expected to hold separate meetings with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chinese President Xi Jinping, among other leaders.
The summit comes amid ongoing conflicts involving Russia and Iran, as well as growing economic and trade tensions with the United States. Russia and Iran have also significantly strengthened their military and economic cooperation while facing extensive Western sanctions.
China, a major importer of Iranian oil, has said it will defend its interests in response to US sanctions targeting Iran and its trading partners.
Iran joined the SCO in 2023 and hopes its membership can help it strengthen economic ties and reduce the impact of US and European sanctions.
Despite the organisation's growing influence, the SCO remains a diverse group with competing interests among its members, including tensions involving China, India, Pakistan and Russia's and China's influence in Central Asia.
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