BISHKEK, September 1, 2026: Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation has evolved into one of the world’s largest and most influential regional groupings, calling for deeper trade, investment and energy cooperation among member states while stressing the need to prevent armed conflicts from becoming a recurring feature of international affairs.
Addressing a meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State in Bishkek, Putin said the organisation had undergone significant transformation since its establishment in 2001 by Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
He said the SCO had continued to strengthen and expand over the past 25 years, emerging as an independent and influential centre in what he described as the developing multipolar world.
According to Putin, SCO member states now account for almost half of the global population and more than one-third of world GDP, making the organisation the largest regional association not only in Eurasia but globally.
He said cooperation among SCO countries in politics, economics and humanitarian affairs was supporting sustainable development across member states while contributing to peace, stability, trust and cooperation throughout Eurasia.
Putin expressed confidence that the package of decisions prepared for approval at the summit would provide fresh momentum to cooperation within the organisation.
Highlighting economic priorities, the Russian president called for further expansion of commercial ties among SCO members, saying stronger trade and investment links would support economic growth and improve living standards.
He said Russia’s trade with SCO countries exceeded $400 billion in 2025, while member states were increasingly conducting transactions in national currencies. In Russia’s settlements with SCO members, he said, national currencies now account for more than 98 percent.
Putin also highlighted the role of the SCO Business Council and Interbank Consortium in implementing joint economic projects and said the proposed SCO Development Bank could contribute to those efforts in the future.
He said the bank should remain as independent as possible from financial systems of countries that, in his view, use economic instruments as tools to secure unilateral advantages in international affairs.
On energy cooperation, Putin said SCO members shared an interest in pursuing a coordinated and balanced policy in line with the SCO Energy Cooperation Strategy through 2030.
He also pointed to expanding cultural and humanitarian engagement, including cooperation in education, healthcare, environmental protection, science and youth exchanges.
The SCO University, he said, now brings together more than 100 universities from member countries, while women’s forums held under the organisation’s framework seek to strengthen women’s participation in public, political, business and social life.
Referring to the World Nomad Games underway in Kyrgyzstan, Putin said representatives from several SCO countries, including Russia, were participating. He added that Russia was prepared to host the next Games in Kazan in 2028 and would welcome teams from interested countries.
He also invited cultural and artistic representatives from SCO states to attend the International United Cultures Forum scheduled to take place in St Petersburg in late September.
Putin said cooperation in Bishkek would help advance broader SCO engagement aimed at strengthening security, peaceful development and prosperity across Eurasia.
Concluding his remarks, the Russian president noted that September 1 marks the beginning of World War II and said countries must make every effort to prevent the deliberate provocation of armed conflicts from becoming accepted international practice.
He said he believed the SCO’s work was contributing towards that objective.