Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states adopted the Bishkek Declaration, setting out plans to deepen cooperation on security, trade and technology as the organisation marked its 25th anniversary. The declaration was adopted at a meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State in the Kyrgyz capital, bringing together key regional leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The declaration called for the responsible use of artificial intelligence, alongside reforms to global economic governance and stronger cooperation on sustainable development, while opposing what it described as double standards, particularly on human rights. It also backed what members described as a more representative and just multipolar world order, calling for reforms to global governance that would give states a more equal role in decision making. Beyond the declaration itself, leaders signed more than 20 other documents covering security, drug trafficking, technology, transport, energy and environmental cooperation.
Among the specific measures adopted, member states committed to steps aimed at developing AI and digital infrastructure alongside strengthening regional security, countering drug trafficking, expanding transport and logistics links, and deepening cooperation on energy and environmental issues. The summit also approved closer cooperation between the SCO and the African Union Commission and designated Lahore as the SCO’s tourism and cultural capital for 2026-2027, giving Pakistan a symbolic role alongside its formal chairmanship responsibilities.
Pakistan formally took over the SCO chairmanship from Kyrgyzstan and will host the next meeting of the Council of Heads of State in 2027. The declaration’s emphasis on AI and digital infrastructure development aligns directly with the technology and AI agenda Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif outlined for Pakistan’s chairmanship term, including a proposed SCO sovereign AI infrastructure and governance framework aimed at promoting responsible and inclusive AI development across the bloc’s ten member states, which together account for around 25 percent of global GDP and span a population of roughly 3.4 billion.
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