Editing Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (section)

== Activities ==
===Cooperation on security===
As of 2023, the SCO is primarily centered on security-related concerns, describing the main threats it confronts as being [[terrorism]], [[separatism]] and [[extremism]]. It has addressed regional [[human trafficking]] and [[Arms trafficking|weapons trafficking]] and created terrorist blacklists.<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|page=96}}

At SCO summit, held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on 16–17 June 2004, the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) was established. On 21 April 2006, the SCO announced plans to fight cross-border drug crimes under the counter-terrorism rubric.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-04/22/content_4459199.htm | title = SCO to intensify fight against cross-border drug crimes | date = 22 April 2006 | location = Beijing | editor-last= Luan |editor-first=Shanglin | agency = [[Xinhua News Agency]] | access-date = 11 June 2016 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150515211539/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-04/22/content_4459199.htm | archive-date = 15 May 2015}}</ref>

In October 2007, the SCO signed an agreement with the [[Collective Security Treaty Organization]] (CSTO), in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe, to broaden cooperation on issues such as security, crime, and drug trafficking.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://fp.brecorder.com/2007/10/20071006634365/ | title = Security alliances led by Russia, China link up | date = 6 October 2007 | work = Business Recorder | location = Dushanbe | access-date = 4 August 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180804170100/http://fp.brecorder.com/2007/10/20071006634365/ | archive-date = 4 August 2018 | url-status = live }}</ref>

As of 2010, the organisation was opposing [[cyberwarfare]], saying that the dissemination of information "harmful to the spiritual, moral and cultural spheres of other states" should be considered a "security threat". An accord adopted in 2009 defined "[[information warfare|information war]]", in part, as an effort by a state to undermine another's "political, economic, and social systems".<ref>{{cite news
 | url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130052701
 | title=Seeing The Internet As An 'Information Weapon'
 | work=National Public Radio
 | first=Tom
 | last=Gjelten
 | date=23 September 2010
| access-date=23 September 2010
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924110725/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130052701
 | archive-date=24 September 2010
| url-status=live
 }}</ref> ''[[The Diplomat (magazine)|The Diplomat]]'' reported in 2017 that SCO has foiled 600 terror plots and extradited 500 terrorists through RATS.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Desai|first=Suyash|url=https://thediplomat.com/2017/12/indias-sco-challenge/|title=India's SCO Challenge|work=The Diplomat|date=5 December 2017|access-date=16 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406230817/https://thediplomat.com/2017/12/indias-sco-challenge/|archive-date=6 April 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The 36th meeting of the Council of the RATS decided to hold a joint anti-terror exercise, Pabbi-Antiterror-2021, in Pakistan in 2021.<ref>{{cite web|last=PTI|date=21 March 2021|title=India, Pakistan, China to participate in SCO joint anti-terrorism exercise|url=https://theprint.in/diplomacy/india-pakistan-china-to-participate-in-sco-joint-anti-terrorism-exercise/625869/|access-date=27 March 2021|website=ThePrint|language=en-US}}</ref>

At the summit in [[Astana]], Kazakhstan, in July 2024, the SCO called for the creation of a fair, multipolar world order based on the key role of the United Nations, international law and the aspiration of sovereign states towards a mutually beneficial partnership.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Putin: Treba stvoriti multipolarni svjetski poredak |url=https://www.index.hr/clanak.aspx?id=2579497 |access-date=2024-07-27 |website=www.index.hr |language=hr}}</ref> 

===Military activities===
[[File:Putin and Hu JintaoPeace Mission 2007.jpg|thumb|left|SCO leaders at Peace Mission 2007. [[Hu Jintao]], [[Vladimir Putin]], [[Nursultan Nazarbayev]] and [[Islam Karimov]]]]

As of 2009, the organisation's activities expanded to include increased military cooperation, [[intelligence sharing]], and [[counterterrorism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cfr.org/publication/10883/|title=The Shanghai Cooperation Organization|publisher=Council on Foreign Relations|last=Scheineson|first=Andrew |date=24 March 2009|access-date=21 July 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100511042105/http://www.cfr.org/publication/10883/|archive-date=11 May 2010}}</ref> At the same time, leaders of SCO states repeatedly stated that the SCO was not a military alliance.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Tugsbilguun |first=Tumurkhuleg |date=2008–2009 |title=Does the Shanghai Cooperation Represent an Example of a Military Alliance? |url=https://www.mongoliajol.info/index.php/MJIA/article/download/32/32 |journal=The Mongolian Journal of International Affairs |volume=15–16 |pages=59–107 |access-date=6 August 2022 |quote=In contrast, the political leaders and most analysts in the SCO member states, especially those in its two most influential members, Russia and China, have repeatedly emphasized that the SCO is not a military alliance, since it is not directed against a third party and is only interested in combating threats posed by terrorism, separatism and extremism.}}</ref>

As of 2023, the SCO had not provided military support in any actual conflicts.<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|page=100}} However, as of 2017, military exercises have regularly been conducted among members to promote cooperation and coordination against terrorism and other external threats, and to maintain regional peace and stability.<ref name="about-sco">{{cite web|url=http://eng.sectsco.org/about_sco/|title=About SCO|publisher=Shanghai Cooperation Organisation|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028182720/http://eng.sectsco.org/about_sco/|archive-date=28 October 2017|access-date=9 June 2017}}</ref> There have been a number of SCO joint military exercises. The first of these was held in 2003, with the first phase taking place in Kazakhstan and the second in China. Since then China and Russia have teamed up for large-scale war games in [[Peace Mission 2005]], Peace Mission 2007 and Peace Mission 2009, under the auspices of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. More than 4,000 soldiers participated at the joint military exercises in Peace Mission 2007, which took place in [[Chelyabinsk]], Russia near the [[Ural Mountains]], as was agreed upon in April 2006 at a meeting of SCO Defence Ministers.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hutzler|first=Charles|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-122597957.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904133349/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-122597957.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 September 2015|title=China, Russia, Others to Hold Joint Drills|agency=Associated Press|date=26 April 2006|access-date=12 June 2015|url-access=subscription |via=[[HighBeam Research]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Yu|first=Bin|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/opinion/17iht-edbin.1.7927841.html?_r=0|title=Common exercise, different goals|newspaper=The New York Times|date=17 October 2007|access-date=12 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614172225/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/opinion/17iht-edbin.1.7927841.html?_r=0|archive-date=14 June 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2010, Russian Defence Minister [[Sergei Ivanov]] said that the exercises would be transparent and open to media and the public. Following the war games' successful completion, Russian officials began speaking of India joining such exercises in the future and the SCO taking on a military role. Peace Mission 2010, conducted 9–25 September at Kazakhstan's Matybulak training area, saw over 5,000 personnel from China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan conduct joint planning and operational maneuvers.<ref>{{citation | last = Boland | first = Julie | url = http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2010/1029_asia_war_games_boland.aspx | title = Learning From The Shanghai Cooperation Organization's 'Peace Mission-2010' Exercise" | publisher = [[The Brookings Institution]] | date = 29 October 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110628085252/http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2010/1029_asia_war_games_boland.aspx | archive-date = 28 June 2011}}</ref>

The SCO has served as a platform for larger military announcements by members. During the 2007 war games in Russia, with leaders of SCO member states in attendance including Chinese President [[Hu Jintao]], Russia's President [[Vladimir Putin]] used the occasion to take advantage of a captive audience. Russian strategic bombers, he said, would resume regular long-range patrols for the first time since the [[Cold War]]. "Starting today, such tours of duty will be conducted regularly and on the strategic scale", Putin said. "Our pilots have been grounded for too long. They are happy to start a new life".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-08-17 |title=Russia to revive long-range bomber patrols |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna20318458 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129114325/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna20318458 |archive-date=January 29, 2023 |access-date=2024-08-10 |website=[[NBC News]] |language=en |agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-08-17 |title=Russia To Resume Long-Range Bomber Patrols |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-to-resume-long-range-bomber-patrols/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240807105608/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-to-resume-long-range-bomber-patrols/ |archive-date=August 7, 2024 |access-date=2024-08-10 |website=[[CBS News]] |language=en-US |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

In June 2014, in the Tajik capital Dushanbe, the idea was brought up to merge the SCO with the [[Collective Security Treaty Organization]]. However, as of late 2022, in the wake of [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] in 2022, many SCO and even CSTO members had distanced themselves from military cooperation with Russia.<ref name="alj">{{Cite news |last=Hess |first=Maximilian |date=9 October 2022 |title=Putin is fighting alone |language=en |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/10/9/putin-is-increasingly-fighting-alone |access-date=5 July 2023}}</ref>

===Economic cooperation===
In September 2003, a Framework Agreement to enhance economic cooperation was signed by the SCO member states. At the same meeting the [[Premier of the People's Republic of China|Premier of China]], [[Wen Jiabao]], proposed a long-term objective to establish a [[free trade area]] in the SCO, while other more immediate measures would be taken to improve the flow of goods in the region.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.thefreelibrary.com/LEAD%3A+Central+Asian+powers+agree+to+pursue+free-trade+zone.-a0108316611 | title = LEAD: Central Asian powers agree to pursue free-trade zone. | date = 23 September 2003 | location = Beijing | author = Kyodo News | publisher = Kyodo News International, Inc. | access-date = 21 July 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150717215118/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/LEAD%3a+Central+Asian+powers+agree+to+pursue+free-trade+zone.-a0108316611 | archive-date = 17 July 2015 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ictsd.org/weekly/03-10-01/story3.htm |title= China Intensifies Regional Trade Talks |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024121832/http://www.ictsd.org/weekly/03-10-01/story3.htm |archive-date=24 October 2007 }} International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD)</ref> A follow-up plan with 100 specific actions was signed one year later, on 23 September 2004.<ref>{{cite press release | url = http://www.shaps.hawaii.edu/fp/russia/2004/20040923_sco_jc.html | title = Joint Communique of the Council of the Governmental Heads (Prime Ministers) of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Member States | date = 23 September 2004 | author = China Foreign Ministry | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090330053454/http://www.shaps.hawaii.edu/fp/russia/2004/20040923_sco_jc.html | archive-date = 30 March 2009}}</ref>

In October 2005, during the Moscow Summit of the SCO, the Secretary General of the Organisation said that the SCO would prioritise joint energy projects; including in the oil and gas sector, the exploration of new [[hydrocarbon]] reserves, and joint use of water resources. The creation of the [[SCO Interbank Consortium]] was also agreed upon in order to fund future joint projects. In February 2006, the first meeting of the SCO Interbank Association was held in Beijing.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2370411 | title = Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Eyes Economic, Security Cooperation | work = Eurasia Daily Monitor | publisher = The Jamestown Foundation | first = Sergei | last = Blagov | date = 31 October 2005 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071101021114/http://www.jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2370411 | archive-date = 1 November 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://eng.nbu.com/news/read.php?id=421 |title=SCO Ministers of Foreign Economic Activity and Trade to meet in Tashkent |publisher=National Bank of Uzbekistan |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815171922/http://eng.nbu.com/news/read.php?id=421 |archive-date=15 August 2011 }}</ref> In November 2006, at ''The SCO: Results and Perspectives'', an international conference held in Almaty, the representative of the [[Russian Foreign Ministry]] announced that Russia was developing plans for an SCO "Energy Club".<ref>{{cite news | url = http://eng.gazeta.kz/art.asp?aid=84086 | title = Russia's Foreign Ministry develops concept of SCO Energy Club | work = Kazakhstan Today | publisher = Gazeta.kz Internet Agency | date = 1 December 2006 | location = [[Almaty]], Kazakhstan | access-date = 3 December 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071007075148/http://eng.gazeta.kz/art.asp?aid=84086 | archive-date = 7 October 2007 | url-status = live }}</ref> in November 2007, Moscow reiterated the need for this "energy club" at an SCO summit. Other SCO members, however, did not commit themselves to the idea.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav110707a.shtml | title = Russia Urges Formation of Central Asian Energy Club | work = Eurasianet | date = 6 November 2007 | first = Sergei | last = Blagov | publisher = The Open Society Institute | access-date = 11 June 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063714/http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav110707a.shtml | archive-date = 4 March 2016 | url-status = dead }}</ref> During the 2008 summit it was stated that "Against the backdrop of a slowdown in the growth of world economy pursuing a responsible currency and financial policy, control over the capital flowing, ensuring food and [[energy security]] have been gaining special significance".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.sectsco.org/html/00030.html | title = Chronicle of Main Events of 'Shanghai Five' and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation | publisher = The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation | year = 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081014132514/http://www.sectsco.org/html/00030.html | archive-date = 14 October 2008}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=June 2016}}

At the 2007 SCO summit, Iranian Vice President [[Parviz Davoodi]] addressed an initiative that had been garnering greater interest when he said, "The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a good venue for designing a new banking system which is independent from international banking systems".<ref>Mehr News Agency, 31 October 2008.</ref>{{better source needed|date=July 2023}}

President Putin included these comments:
<blockquote>
We now clearly see the defectiveness of the monopoly in world finance and the policy of economic selfishness. To solve the current problem Russia will take part in changing the global financial structure so that it will be able to guarantee stability and prosperity in the world and to ensure progress.
<br />
The world is seeing the emergence of a qualitatively different [[geo-political]] situation, with the emergence of new centers of economic growth and political influence.
<br />
We will witness and take part in the transformation of the global and regional security and development architectures adapted to new realities of the 21st century, when stability and prosperity are becoming inseparable notions.<ref>''Russia Today'', 30 October 2008</ref>
</blockquote>

[[File:SCO Summit Ekaterinburg 2009.jpg|thumb|Leaders present at the SCO summit in [[Yekaterinburg]], Russia in 2009]]

In June 2009, at the Yekaterinburg Summit, China announced plans to provide a US$10 billion loan to other SCO member states to shore up the struggling economies of its members amid the global financial crisis.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-06/16/content_11552439.htm | title = China to provide 10-billion-dollar loan to SCO members | editor-last= Deng |editor-first=Shasha | date = 16 June 2009 | location = Yekaterinburg, Russia | agency = [[Xinhua News Agency]] | access-date = 21 July 2015 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073311/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-06/16/content_11552439.htm | archive-date = 4 March 2016}}</ref> The summit was held together with the [[1st BRIC summit|first BRIC summit]], and the China–Russia joint statement said that they want a bigger quota in the [[International Monetary Fund]].<ref>{{cite news |editor=Yan |title=China, Russia sign five-point joint statement |date=18 June 2009 |access-date=23 June 2009 |quote=They also said that a new round of the IMF quota formula review and the reform schemes of the World Bank should be completed on time and that the emerging markets and developing countries should have a bigger say and broader representation in the international financial institutions. |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-06/18/content_11558133.htm |agency=[[Xinhua News Agency]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620111314/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-06/18/content_11558133.htm |archive-date=20 June 2009}}</ref>

In 2014, the [[Eurasian Economic Union]] was founded in which Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are members.

During the 2019 Bishkek summit, [[Pakistani Prime Minister]] [[Imran Khan]] suggested taking steps to trade in local currencies instead of U.S. dollars and setting up financial institutions including an SCO bank.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/shanghai-cooperation-organization-summit-kicks-off-in-bishkek/1504148|title=Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit kicks off in Bishkek|website=www.aa.com.tr|access-date=29 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929213418/https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/shanghai-cooperation-organization-summit-kicks-off-in-bishkek/1504148|archive-date=29 September 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

In June 2022, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari suggested creating a single SCO currency to facilitate trade and financial transactions among SCO members.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tabnak.ir/fa/news/1122205 |language=fa |script-title=fa:پیشنهاد ایران به سازمان شانگهای برای ایجاد پول واحد
 |trans-title=Iran's proposal to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to create a single currency |date=2 June 2022 |website=TABNAK |access-date=12 July 2022}}</ref>

During 19–22 October 2022, Iran hosted SCOCOEX, an international conference and exhibition on economic cooperation opportunities available to the SCO member states and partners.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2022/06/21/2731950/scocoex-event-in-iran-deferred-to-october |title=SCOCOEX Event in Iran Deferred to October |date=21 June 2022 |website=Tasnim |access-date=12 July 2022}}</ref>

As part of the SCO's economic agenda, it has established a relatively successful student exchange program called the SCO University.<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|page=95}}

=== Cultural cooperation ===
Culture ministers of the SCO met for the first time in Beijing on 12 April 2002, signing a joint statement for continued cooperation. The third meeting of the Culture Ministers took place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on 27–28 April 2006.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://english.people.com.cn/200204/13/eng20020413_93954.shtml |title = Culture Ministers of SCO Member States Meet in Beijing |date = 13 April 2002 |newspaper = People's Daily |publisher = People's Daily Online |access-date = 11 June 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130426094709/http://english.people.com.cn/200204/13/eng20020413_93954.shtml |archive-date = 26 April 2013 |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url = http://eng.gazeta.kz/art.asp?aid=74059 |title = SCO Culture Ministers to Meet in Tashkent | work = Kazakhstan Today | publisher = Gazeta.kz Internet Agency |date = 17 April 2006 |location = [[Almaty]], Kazakhstan |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090418125956/http://eng.gazeta.kz/art.asp?aid=74059 |archive-date = 18 April 2009}}</ref>

An SCO Arts Festival and Exhibition was held for the first time during the Astana Summit in 2005. Kazakhstan suggested an SCO [[folk dance]] festival to take place in 2008, in Astana.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.inform.kz/eng/article/2141605 |title = Kazakhstan Backs Promotion of SCO Cultural Ties |work = KazInform |agency = [[Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union|KazInform]] International News Agency |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303195124/http://www.inform.kz/eng/article/2141605 |archive-date = 3 March 2016 }}</ref>

===SCO+===
The SCO+ forum format was initiated by the [[United Russia]] party in October 2020. This format includes inter-party interaction not only of the countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (members, observers, candidates) but also of the [[Commonwealth of Independent States|CIS]] and [[BRICS]] countries.

It was first used during the SCO+ international inter-party forum "Economy for People" on 22–23 October 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://iiip.online/shos.html |title=Официальный сайт форума ШОС+ |trans-title=Official website of the SCO+ forum |access-date=2020-11-04 |archive-date=2020-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123161140/https://iiip.online/shos.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The forum was attended by speakers from 25 countries, including the chairman of the United Russia party, [[Dmitry Medvedev]], ministers of the SCO countries, Serbian President [[Aleksandar Vučić]], and ambassadors and diplomats of the CIS and BRICS countries. Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] sent greetings to the forum participants.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://rg.ru/2020/10/22/putin-napravil-privetstvie-uchastnikam-mezhpartijnogo-foruma-shos.html |title=Путин направил приветствие участникам межпартийного форума ШОС+ |trans-title=Putin sent a greeting to the participants of the SCO+ inter-party forum |website=Rossiyskaya Gazeta |date=22 October 2020 |accessdate=2020-11-04 |archive-date=2020-11-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101113858/https://rg.ru/2020/10/22/putin-napravil-privetstvie-uchastnikam-mezhpartijnogo-foruma-shos.html |url-status=live}}</ref>