Pakistan, India, Turkey, Iran, Egypt Join Over 20 Leaders at Shanghai Cooperation Summit in China
China will host the 25th annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit beginning Sunday, August 31, in the northern port city of Tianjin. Officials said the gathering is expected to be the largest in the bloc’s history, with leaders from Asia, Europe, and Africa set to attend.
According to the Chinese State Council Information Office, the summit will focus on strengthening political trust, expanding trade, and improving cooperation mechanisms among member states. President Xi Jinping, as current chair, will welcome more than 20 world leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Several Central and Southeast Asian leaders will also participate.
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The joint participation of India and Pakistan is drawing particular attention. Their leaders will meet only months after the two nuclear-armed rivals fought a brief war in May 2025, which ended following a ceasefire negotiated by US President Donald Trump. Observers are watching to see if the summit provides a chance to ease tensions between the neighbors.
Another highlight is the attendance of Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. Egypt, which became a dialogue partner in 2022, has previously taken part in lower-level SCO events, but this marks its first appearance at the summit’s top tier.
Often described as the “NATO of the East,” the SCO was formed after the Cold War to bring together countries seeking to boost diplomacy, security cooperation, and economic ties outside Western-led alliances. With its largest-ever roster of participants, the Tianjin summit is expected to carry considerable geopolitical weight and may shape new strategic alignments in the years ahead.
