Key points
- Upcoming summit largest SCO gathering since the organisation’s founding
- Summit to focus on cooperation, security, shared development
ISLAMABAD: Over 20 national leaders and heads of 10 international organisations are set to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2025, scheduled to take place in Tianjin from 31 August to 1 September, according to Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Bin.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025 will be held in Tianjin from Aug. 31 to Sept. 1. As China hosts the SCO summit for the fifth time, here’s what you need to know ahead of the Tianjin meeting. #XinhuaHeadlines https://t.co/vi2Kw0Glvg pic.twitter.com/ShNd3u4L0l
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) August 23, 2025
Speaking at a press briefing on Friday, Liu noted this will be the fifth time China has hosted the SCO Summit, and the largest since the bloc’s inception. Leaders will discuss the future direction of the organisation, strengthen cooperation within the “SCO family,” and work towards building a closer-knit community with a shared future, reports CGTN.
National leaders
Invited national leaders include Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and leaders from Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and beyond — including presidents or prime ministers from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, the Maldives, Nepal, Türkiye, Egypt, Turkmenistan, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
International organisation leaders
International organisation leaders attending include UN Secretary-General António Guterres, SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev, and senior officials from the CIS, ASEAN, CSTO, ECO, CICA, the Eurasian Economic Commission, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
🚨 BREAKING:
PM Modi to visit China for the first time in 7 years from Aug 31 to Sep 1 to attend the SCO Summit. 🇨🇳🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/mGcMHFI8te
— Beats in Brief 🗞️ (@beatsinbrief) August 22, 2025
The summit aims to build consensus on regional and global cooperation, enhance security, and deepen economic and diplomatic ties among member and partner countries. It underscores China’s growing leadership role in multilateral diplomacy and regional integration through platforms like the SCO.