SCO Summit in Astana 2024 … Growing Expansion Efforts Amid Increasing Global Challenges -1-

Since its founding on June 15, 2001 in Shanghai, and the signing of the organisations charter which defines its goals and basic principles at the 2002 summit in St. Petersburg by the six founding countries (China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan), the SCO has sought further expansion through including new full member states, others as observer states, and others as dialogue partners. The first expansion of the organisation came to enhance its influence on the international level, with India and Pakistan joining as full members during the historic summit held in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on June 9, 2017, before Iran joined the list of full member states of the organisation in 2023 during the summit held in India via video conference technology. In addition to the nine full-member countries, the organisation also includes three countries that currently enjoy the status of observer states: Afghanistan, Belarus, and Mongolia, which are seeking to obtain full membership in the future . Fourteen other countries have also joined the organisation so far with the status of "dialogue partner", which enables them to participate in the organizations activities and consultations. This list includes the State of Qatar which signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding its joining the organisation as a dialogue partner on Sep.14, 2022, on the sidelines of the SCO Summit which was held in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, along with Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, the Maldives, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The accession of new countries to an international organisation such as the SCO constitutes an important step and development in the formation and structure of the organization, expanding the scope of cooperation within it, and increasing its ability to influence and achieve its goals. Indeed, new countries can support the organisation with their expertise and resources in various fields, which contributes to diversifyi ng the capabilities and interests of the organization, in addition to representing an opportunity to enhance the competitiveness and positive impact of the organization in the future. Since the summit announcing the founding in Shanghai, China, in 2001, until the India summit in 2023, the organisations stakes and goals have evolved, leading the international scene as a multi-dimensional platform for enhancing cooperation between member states in various political, economic, security, and cultural fields. Despite the progress the organisation has made in expanding the scope of cooperation between its member states, observer states and dialogue partner states, there are challenges related to harmonizing different national policies and interests between members and partners. However, the organisation seeks to strengthen partnerships and deepen cooperation to achieve stability, security and prosperity in the region. Trade between its member states has witnessed significant growth over the past two decades, wit h the volume of trade exchange between member states approaching $500 billion at the end of 2022, according to the Secretary-General of the Organisation. According to data from the SCO 20-Year trade development report, the total trade value of member states increased from $667.09 billion in 2001 to $6.06 trillion in 2020, and their share of total global trade increased from 5.4 percent in 2020 to 17.5 percent in 2021. The gross domestic product of its member states amounted to about 23.3 trillion dollars. Source: Qatar News Agency