Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi signed on to become a formal member during the latest leaders' summit in Uzbekistan in September, and Saudi King Salman approved his nation's dialogue partner status in March, weeks after a historic deal brokered by China set the stage for Riyadh and Tehran to restore diplomatic ties.

Throughout its history, the group has welcomed a number of observer states, including Belarus, Mongolia and Iran, as well as a broadening array of dialogue partners, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Egypt, Nepal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Türkiye.Īmong these nations, another pair of foes, Iran and Saudi Arabia, has set out to bolster ties with the SCO. Five years later, the SCO was announced with Uzbekistan joining and, in 2017, India and Pakistan signed on despite their decades-long rivalry.

The SCO began as the 'Shanghai Five' in 1996, bringing together China and Russia along with Central Asian nations Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. INDIAN MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFA/AFP/Getty Images The Pakistani top diplomat's trip to the west coast Indian city marked the first of its kind in 12 years. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (left) welcomes Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Benaulim, Goa. We believe regional cooperation to promote the SCO vision of peace and cooperation in security and economic connectivity can bring enormous dividends to countries in the region.' 'We are also encouraged by the robust expansion of SCO with new members and partner countries. It covers more than 40 percent of world's population and around 30 percent of global GDP. 'It is the world's largest regional organization in terms of geographic scope and population. 'Pakistan attaches great importance to the SCO, which is becoming increasingly vibrant,' Akram said. Pakistan's permanent representative to the United Nations, Munir Akram, told Newsweek that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's participation in the gathering 'reflects our commitment to regional cooperation.' The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) ministerial summit in the west coast city of Goa marks the latest high-level meeting of a growing group of nations seeking to overcome bilateral disputes to enhance security and economic ties, leaving the United States on the sidelines. As Pakistan's top diplomat made the first trip of its kind to India in 12 years, Islamabad's envoy to the United Nations praised the security bloc led by China and Russia, which brought the nuclear-armed South Asian rivals together.

Dirty Together by Meghan March