Xi, Modi and Putin attend SCO summit: What’s on the agenda? - aljazeera.com

**Bishkek hosts a high‑profile SCO summit as China, India and Russia send their leaders** The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) 23rd summit opened on Thursday in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, drawing heads of state from its eight members and several dialogue partners. President Xi Jinping of China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and President Vladimir Putin of Russia were among the most closely watched attendees, underscoring the bloc’s growing diplomatic weight in Eurasia. The gathering, chaired by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, aims to reinforce cooperation on security, economic development and cultural exchange among the member nations, which together account for roughly a fifth of the world’s population and a comparable share of global GDP.

**Agenda highlights include visa‑free travel, conflict resolution and regional stability** One of the summit’s headline items was a proposal, championed by Xi, to introduce visa‑free travel for citizens of the SCO’s eight member states, a move intended to boost tourism, business mobility and people‑to‑people ties. Discussions also turned to pressing security concerns: the conflict in Ukraine, ongoing tensions in the Middle East, and the situation in Afghanistan. In bilateral talks with Putin, Modi urged the Russian leader to shift “from endless war to the end of war” in Ukraine, echoing calls from other SCO partners for a diplomatic resolution. Meanwhile, Russian officials highlighted the need for a coordinated response to what they described as Western “interference” in regional affairs, while Chinese delegates stressed the importance of respecting sovereign choices and avoiding the politicisation of humanitarian crises.

**Implications for the global balance of power** The Bishkek summit reflects the SCO’s ambition to position itself as a credible alternative to Western‑led institutions such as NATO and the EU. By advancing initiatives like visa‑free travel and a collective stance on conflict mediation, the bloc seeks to deepen intra‑regional integration and present a united front on geopolitical issues. Observers note that while the summit’s outcomes remain largely declarative, the convergence of China, India and Russia on key themes could influence diplomatic calculations in Kyiv, Jerusalem and Washington, potentially reshaping negotiations on the Ukraine war and broader Eurasian security architecture.