Iranian President Pezeshkian Arrives in Kyrgyzstan for SCO Summit

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has arrived in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, to attend the 26th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are among the leaders attending the two-day summit.

The theme of the summit is “25 years of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: together for peace, development and shared prosperity.”

The meeting will focus on economic cooperation, regional connectivity, energy, digital development, counter-terrorism and regional security.

Pezeshkian is expected to address the SCO summit and hold meetings with leaders and senior officials from member and partner countries. He is also scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

Iran and Russia see the SCO summit as an important opportunity to strengthen cooperation among non-Western countries.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was established in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan joined in 2017, followed by Iran in 2023 and Belarus in 2024. The organization now has 10 member countries.

The SCO covers around 24 percent of the world’s land area and represents about 42 percent of the global population, making it the world’s largest regional organization by geographic scope and population.

Pezeshkian is also expected to attend the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan.