Context: Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek is hosting the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, as the Eurasian bloc marks 25 years since its inception.
Kyrgyzstan
- Officially the Kyrgyz Republic
- A mountainous, landlocked sovereign republic in Central Asia
- Formerly a union republic of the Soviet Union, known as Kirgiziya
- Declared independence on 31 August 1991
- Location: the heart of Central Asia, dominated by the Tien Shan mountain system
- Capital: Bishkek, in the fertile Chu River valley in the north
- Borders: Kazakhstan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
About the SCO
- Founded in 2001 in Shanghai, from the earlier “Shanghai Five”
- Founding members: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
- India and Pakistan joined in 2017; Iran in 2023; Belarus in 2024
- Secretariat: Beijing
- RATS — Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure — headquartered at Tashkent
- India hosted the 2023 summit (virtual) and the SCO Heads of Government meeting
