The Shanghai cooperation organisation (SCO) summit began on Monday in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan; however, the Taliban were not invited to attend the meeting.
The summit is being attended by the leaders of member states, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are also among the participants.
The discussions are expected to cover Afghanistan’s security situation, the activities of terrorist groups, and drug trafficking. SCO members, particularly Afghanistan’s neighboring countries, regard the activities of ISIS and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan as a security threat to the region.
Afghanistan has held observer status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation since 2012. However, following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, no representative of Afghanistan has attended the organisation’s annual summits.
The foreign ministers of SCO member states also discussed Afghanistan’s security situation during their meeting on July 15. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar described terrorism emanating from Afghanistan as the most serious security challenge facing his country, while Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stressed the need for a stable Afghanistan free of terrorism.
The main meeting of the SCO leaders is scheduled to take place tomorrow, Tuesday. At the conclusion of the summit, the “Bishkek Declaration” is expected to be adopted to mark the 25th anniversary of the organisation’s establishment. The rotating presidency of the organisation is also expected to be transferred from Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
