Bishkek, May 21, 2026 /Kabar/. Promising areas of cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are being discussed at the SCO Think Tank Forum in Bishkek. Participants will focus on strengthening multifaceted and comprehensive cooperation, strengthening economic ties, and maintaining stability and strategic security.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is 25 years old, and it continues to build and refine its mechanisms to create effective and convenient mechanisms for collaboration between states across a wide range of areas of mutual interest. The forum in Bishkek is precisely such a platform for developing ideas and proposals to strengthen partnerships and flesh out the agenda with concrete action.
Shumkarbek Adilbek uulu, Director of the National Institute for Strategic Initiatives under the President of Kyrgyzstan, noted that the SCO's uniqueness lies in the fact that the organization unites states with different development models, cultural traditions, and foreign policy priorities, while maintaining sustainable and constructive interaction.
"Today's meeting brings together leading expert and analytical institutions that play a crucial role in forming the intellectual foundation for strategic decision-making. In a rapidly changing international environment, the importance of think tanks is significantly increasing. It is think tanks that shape the agenda, propose solutions, and promote mutual understanding between states.
Over the years, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has established itself as an effective platform for building trust, promoting dialogue, and expanding practical cooperation.
Today, we are witnessing a profound transformation of the international system. A transition is underway from a relatively stable model of global governance to a more complex, fragmented, and, to a certain extent, unpredictable architecture. Competition among power centers is intensifying, production chains are changing, and the importance of regional cooperation formats is growing.
Under these conditions, the SCO serves not only as a platform for dialogue but also as a key element of the emerging multipolar world order," noted Shumkarbek Adilbek uulu.
The forum is hosting several panel sessions featuring experts and heads of strategic research institutes from Shanghai Cooperation Organization member countries:
- "Security and Resilience of the SCO Region in the Context of Global Turbulence: Challenges and Opportunities";
- "Economic Integration, Transport and Digital Connectivity";
- "The Humanitarian Dimension of the SCO";
- "Five Years of Mountain Region Development."
The exchange of expert opinions on key areas of cooperation, analysis, and forecasting of global trends provide the basis for developing and adopting conceptual decisions and programs aimed at strengthening the SCO partnership as a large space for Eurasian development.