Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Kyrgyzstan ahead of meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek.
The three leaders are due to attend the annual gathering of the Eurasian organisation, which focuses on regional security, political cooperation and economic ties among its members.
The SCO originated as a regional grouping involving China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, with its first agreement signed in Shanghai. It has since expanded significantly and now comprises ten full members, alongside dialogue partners and observer states.
The organisation’s agenda covers security, trade, economic development and broader political cooperation. Member states have increasingly presented the SCO as an important institution in the emergence of a multipolar international system.
Russia and China, in particular, have argued that the post-Cold War period of US-led global dominance is giving way to a more dispersed balance of power. SCO members have also accused Western countries of pursuing policies that contribute to international instability as geopolitical competition intensifies.
The Bishkek summit provides Putin, Xi and Modi with an opportunity for bilateral discussions as well as talks on wider regional and international issues involving SCO members.
