Modi, Xi and Putin Attend SCO Summit in Bishkek as Bloc Marks 25 Years
International AffairsWell-covered
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The Facts
- The 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit is being held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on August 31 and September 1.
- Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Masoud Pezeshkian are attending the summit.
- The summit marks the 25th anniversary of the SCO, founded in Shanghai in 2001.
- The SCO has 10 member states: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, Iran and Belarus.
- A bilateral meeting between Modi and Putin has been scheduled, and Indian officials expect Modi and Xi to meet during the summit.
- Counter-terrorism, regional security, trade, energy and connectivity are listed among the summit's main agenda items.
- SCO member states account for roughly a quarter of global economic output.
- The summit takes place amid the Russia-Ukraine war and the aftermath of the US-Israel war on Iran.
- Analysts and former officials cited by outlets question the bloc's cohesion, pointing to rivalries and differences among members.
Context
What is the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation?
The SCO was founded in Shanghai in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, with India and Pakistan joining later, followed by Iran and Belarus mint,China Daily. It began primarily as a security and border-management mechanism and has since expanded into trade, investment, transport, energy and connectivity cooperation Firstpost,China Daily. It now has 10 member states, two observer states and 15 dialogue partners China Daily,Daily News and Anal….
Why does this summit matter for India?
India is hosting the BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12-13, which both Putin and Xi are expected to attend, making Bishkek a lead-up event for New Delhi Indian Express,Firstpost. Indian coverage says New Delhi is using the summit to press on terrorism and radicalisation while pursuing trade, energy and connectivity ties with Central Asia India Today,Daily News and Anal…. The meeting also comes as India-China relations are described as thawing, while India maintains its ties with the United States Economic Times,WION.
How is the bloc described in relation to the United States?
Multiple outlets describe the SCO as billed by its members as a counterweight to US global influence and to Western-led institutions 朝日新聞デジタル,جريدة الأهر…,Economic Times. The National reported that a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Centre said SCO leaders would try to make the summit look significant so that US President Donald Trump 'understands that there is power on the other side of this global order' National. Coverage also notes the bloc is not a formal alliance, and that its members hold differing positions on major conflicts Economic Times,WION.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- The scheduled Putin talks and expected Xi meeting are leverage to be spent, not ceremony — access worth judging by what India extracts from it rather than by attendance.
- Where Left and Right split
- Whether the story is about India pressing Putin and Pezeshkian toward de-escalation in two active wars, or about bargaining hard for its own energy, trade and counter-terrorism gains.
- Why they won’t converge
- The divide is over values, specifically what diplomatic access is for: one side scores these meetings against war de-escalation, the other against energy, trade and counter-terrorism gains, so identical handshakes yield opposite verdicts.
How left and right read it
The measure of a summit like this is whether it moves anyone closer to ending wars, because it convenes amid the Russia-Ukraine war and the aftermath of the US-Israel war on Iran, with Putin and Pezeshkian both in the room. Scheduled talks with Putin and an expected meeting with Xi are leverage, not ceremony. So the question worth pressing is simple: does India use that access to demand de-escalation, or merely to sit for the 25th-anniversary photograph?
A country earns strategic autonomy by using it, and a room holding roughly a quarter of global economic output is where India should be bargaining for its own energy, trade and connectivity interests. That is why the scheduled talks with Putin and the expected meeting with Xi matter as instruments, not affiliations. Pakistan sits in the same grouping. So press counter-terrorism hard, take the concrete gains, and join no one's bloc.
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