The nature of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and new geopolitical realities

Mehr News Agency, International Group: In 2024, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization became one of the most prestigious international organizations. The expansion of this organization has placed it among the number of international organizations in the non-western world.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization – Hyacinth and Multipolar Symbol

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was established in June 2001. The formation of this organization was based on the strategic cooperation between Russia and China. Just one day before the announcement of the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the leaders of Russia and China met in Shanghai.

During more than 20 years since its establishment, the organization has made significant achievements and progress. First, new influential members have joined the organization: India, Pakistan and Iran. Based on this, it can be said that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has become one of the largest non-western structures in the world. Secondly, the internal structure of this organization has also changed and evolved. One of the main achievements of the organization in this field can be considered the creation of a regional anti-terrorism structure.

At the same time, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is facing new problems and challenges. The development and expansion of the organization creates obvious advantages, but at the same time it significantly complicates the process of goal setting and decisions in the organization. This organization is just adapting and is gradually looking for a way out of this situation.

At the same time, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is facing new external challenges related to changes in the geopolitical situation of the world. These changes increase the importance of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and can lead to changes within the organization.

Adaptation to the new realities of international security

The greatest achievements and successes of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization have been in the field of security. The issue of fighting international terrorism has always been on the agenda since the first days of the establishment of this organization. After the withdrawal of international security forces from Afghanistan, the risk of terrorism has increased. The member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization also face challenges such as drug trafficking, illegal immigration and information security threats.

To jointly fight these challenges, the countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization; They hold annual joint military exercises, but the tools of this organization are limited and require internal transformation.

New influential members – India, Pakistan and Iran – can play an important role in strengthening security cooperation. Other regional organizations such as the Collective Security Treaty Organization or even the ASEAN Organization can play an important role in this field. Closer and closer cooperation and interactions and exchange of information between relevant legal and law enforcement organizations and institutions can improve the regional security situation in a wide geographical area.

economic cooperation

The dimension of economic cooperation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is less developed compared to the dimension of security cooperation. For years, there have been discussions within the organization regarding the need to establish a development bank of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. As the President of Kazakhstan, Kassem Jomart Tokayev, pointed out at the meeting of the Council of Heads of Member States in 2023, not a single major economic project under the supervision of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has been implemented for more than 20 years.

One ​​of the problems is the different views among the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization about the international geopolitical situation. In the composition of this organization, on the one hand, there are countries against which the West has imposed extensive sanctions. On the other hand, other members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are afraid of secondary sanctions and have close economic relations with Western countries.

Long before February 2022, China decided to establish a free trade area within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to ensure the free movement of goods, services and technologies, which are in accordance with the provisions of The charter of the organization was supported. China is primarily interested in expanding market access for its growing economy. Initiatives to seriously expand economic cooperation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization were previously viewed with caution.

The accession of other sanctioned countries to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as well as the continuation of Western pressure and problems in the global economy may lead the member countries to intensify and strengthen economic cooperation. .

Energy field – a potential stimulus for the development of economic cooperation

Currently, we are witnessing the global trend of transformation in the energy markets of the world. Western countries set price ceilings, impose sanctions and other restrictions, which lead to significant instability in the energy markets. In addition, Western countries use the green agenda to create more foreign trade barriers and actively impose renewable energy regulations on other countries.

Officially, this organization currently has a necessary and necessary institution called “Cooperation Organization Energy Club” “Shanghai”, which was formed on the initiative of Russia.

This club is an informal discussion platform where harmonization of national energy laws, energy security and energy pricing is discussed. In the meetings of this club, not only the representatives of the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, but also the representatives of Turkey or Saudi Arabia are regularly present.

In this context, Russia’s initiative to create a gas union with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan takes on a different meaning. These two countries are facing challenges in the field of energy security, and Russia supplies part of the gas volume needed by these countries. But Astana and Tashkent are afraid of secondary sanctions due to cooperation within the framework of this union, and cooperation within the Energy Club can neutralize these risks.

The role of Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Greater Eurasia

The tense situation of international geopolitics is changing the image of the world drastically. The new geopolitical realities have practically divided the world into two categories, including countries that favor a multipolar world order and countries that support and favor the hegemony of the United States. At the same time, the work of many international institutions, even regional institutions, has been disrupted. In such a situation and context, the importance of the effective functioning of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization increases.

There is an active process to formalize the interregional order in Eurasia, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is joining this process. it’s too important. Earlier, as part of this process, Russia proposed and continues to promote its own initiative – Greater Eurasian Partnership. This initiative includes creating the necessary conditions for interaction between different institutions in this continent, including both regional institutions (Eurasian Economic Union, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, ASEAN, etc.) and countries.

In its more than 20 years of existence, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has not only provided the basis for cooperation between key players It has been in the Eurasian continent, but it has helped to expand the interaction between them. The new geopolitical situation may accelerate further transformation of the organization.

Parviz Ghasemi; Expert and researcher of Central Asian issues; Russia and the Caucasus