The holding of the 24th Summit of the heads of states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Astana was undoubtedly a major regional and international event. In this regard, political commentators and experts from the very beginning entered into a discussion and expressed comprehensive views on the significance of the results of this summit, emphasizing that the summit’s agenda will raise the level and quality of regional cooperation, contribute to strengthening security, stability and qualitatively new development of the region. This level of attention to the activities of this organization is due to the fact that the heads of its member states, through their policies and constructive actions in recent years, have been able to realize and significantly reduce the consequences of contradictory processes that threaten the development and security of mankind. It is expected that such steps will gradually change the essence of not only regional but also global politics.
The member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, understanding the objective processes of today’s world, have realized that they have common interests and are making tireless efforts to protect and implement them. This trend creates an environment in which the people of these countries are becoming closer to each other than before, and the trade turnover between the countries is increasing. The average growth rate of Shanghai Cooperation Organization member countries in 2023 is 5%, industrial production is 4.5%, and the inflation rate is only 2.4%. Thanks to these processes, their economies are strengthening, and their annual development growth is constantly emphasized by international organizations.
The member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization have managed, through mutually beneficial cooperation, to avoid the risk of turning their space into an arena of irreconcilable geopolitical rivalry. On this issue at the Astana Summit, the Head of our state, the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Leader of the nation his excellency E. Rahmon recalled that 23 years ago, when the SCO was established, the heads of the founding states focused their attention on the problems of Central Asia, establishing this region as the “SCO axis”. In this regard, the need for a more active presence of the Organization in Central Asia, which in recent years has attracted much attention of foreign actors, was stressed. In the context of such assessments, based on the text of the adopted Declaration, Central Asia is recognized as the “core of the SCO”, and it is expected that the light of the emerging new global system will spread from this new geopolitical point.
Given the attractiveness of the aforementioned issue before the Astana Summit, one mystery for the international circle of experts was how in a face-to-face meeting the member states could agree on key topics due to some of their existing border problems and not always identical foreign policy orientations. However, the base of hopeless assumptions associated with this topic was deflected by the practical and real achievements of China and India in the context of this meeting to find a favorable solution to border disputes. This demonstrates that efforts to resolve existing differences among the member states of the organization have now become institutionalized, including the choice of consultations and negotiations on topical issues of bilateral and multilateral relations.
Although before the summit some think tanks and media outlets had much to say about the possibility that powerful member states would try to use the reputation gained by the organization to demonstrate power beyond their borders, but in fact the content of the documents signed by the organization, including the final Summit Statement, indicates that the members of the organization are seeking to increasingly transform the atmosphere of their relations into an arena of efforts to find broad opportunities for peaceful coexistence with each other. The favourable relations between the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization have become an important basis for attracting increasing international attention to the organization’s activities.
In this regard, it should be emphasized that the organization, in accordance with the system of organization of its activities, takes into account and respects the positions and interests of all member states when making decisions. To strengthen this line of action, at the Astana Summit, the member states decided to expand the powers of the Organization’s Secretariat. In this sense, we can say that this organization balances and modifies the behavior of Central Asian neighbors not only on regional issues, but also on most international challenges. To achieve this goal, they present their views and judgments on regional and transregional phenomena on the basis of respect for each other’s positions. In other words, the balanced and mutually beneficial cooperation of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a good example for the creation of a new global system of interaction. Efforts to create a fair and multipolar system followed by this organization are primarily aimed at enhancing the role of the UN, respecting international law and supporting the aspirations of independent states for equal partnership in the activities of international institutions.
Also, the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization confirmed their interest in preventing threats to the security of the organization’s member states at the Astana Summit, supporting the Tajik side’s proposal to open the SCO Anti-Drug Center in Dushanbe. It is expected that such steps will gradually change the essence of ensuring regional security policy.
Thus, the results of the 24th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the adoption of 25 important documents on cooperation in the multifaceted development of the organization’s activities indicate that the efforts of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states to ensure sustainable development, regional and global security are sustainable, which compensates for the gradual decline in the influence of some international institutions in the search for solutions to pressing global problems. At the same time, the status and influence of the Republic of Tajikistan, which was at the origin of the establishment of this prestigious organization, will further increase.
Khayriddin Usmonzoda,
Director of the Center for strategic research
under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan,
Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, Corresponding Member
of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan.
