Message to the world from China

The 25th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was held in the Chinese city of Tianjin. The summit resulted in the signing of 20 important documents. The heads of state and government also adopted the Tianjin Declaration.

Over a quarter of a century, the SCO has transformed from a regional initiative into one of the key international platforms. Uniting the largest countries of Asia and Eurasia, it now defines the contours of Eurasian diplomacy, serves as a tool for ensuring security, and also protects the interests of the Global South states, writes the newspaper "Caspian".

The participation of more than 20 world leaders and delegations from 10 international organizations in the forum indicates a noticeable shift toward multipolarity.

Today, many countries are choosing the Chinese vector as an important direction of their foreign policy, including Azerbaijan, which is perceived by China as an important link in the logistics corridor, as well as an attractive and promising investment field.

Considering that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is one of the tools of global Chinese policy, Azerbaijan has applied for full membership in this organization, and China has supported this application.

The SCO was established in 2001 and includes India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus. Azerbaijan is among the current partners.

The goal of the SCO is to ensure stability and security in the region, develop economic cooperation, energy partnership, scientific and cultural activities. Meetings of the heads of member states of the organization have been held annually since 2002.

Azerbaijan received the status of "SCO Partner"

Azerbaijan has held the status of a dialogue partner since 2016 after signing a corresponding memorandum with the organization. Later, in 2024, Baku applied for an upgrade to observer status - as a step towards full membership. As a result of the current structural changes, both previous formats were combined. As noted in the "Tianjin Declaration," the member countries of the organization decided to combine the statuses of "observer" and "dialogue partner" into a new unified format - "SCO partner." Meanwhile, Azerbaijan, like Armenia, remained outside the circle of full members of the SCO, despite the support of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

India blocked our country's application, which, despite being a member of the SCO, is afraid of the expansion of this organization, seeing it as strengthening Beijing. In Baku, it is believed that New Delhi's step only demonstrates the limitations and short-sightedness of Indian policy.

Meanwhile, Pakistan established diplomatic relations with Armenia after coordination with Baku. That is, Baku and Islamabad showed diplomatic flexibility. India, unlike Pakistan, took a tough position and effectively slowed down Chinese initiatives to expand the SCO, which is not the first time this has happened on international platforms. At the same time, the meeting in Tianjin allows New Delhi to maintain strategic autonomy while strengthening its economic presence in Eurasia.

Thus, Azerbaijan and Armenia did not become members of the SCO precisely because of blockages from India (against Azerbaijan) and Pakistan (against Armenia).

The program in Tianjin was focused on security, sustainable development, and financial stability. This is a step towards transforming the SCO from a discussion platform into a more effective organization.

Azerbaijan's agenda at the summit was related to the formation of a joint infrastructure and technological platform with China, as well as the development of Baku's line on creating regional associations, which are becoming important elements of interaction within the SCO. It is no coincidence that President Ilham Aliy