PROVINCE REPORT
BISHKEK: The Rossiya Segodnya media group and China’s Xinhua News Agency jointly inaugurated the SCO Expert Forum in Bishkek under the Kyrgyz Republic’s presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
The forum brought together heads of leading think tanks, policy experts, and academics from SCO member states, observer states, and dialogue partners to discuss regional and global challenges. Pakistan was represented by Majid Ehsan, President of the Islamabad Policy Research Institute.
Speaking at the opening session, First Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Rossiya Segodnya Sergei Kochetkov said the SCO has evolved over the past 25 years into a major global platform promoting multipolarity, dialogue, economic cooperation, and information sovereignty.
President of the Xinhua Institute Liu Gang highlighted the growing role of the Global South, stressing that platforms such as the SCO and BRICS create new opportunities for think tanks to contribute to policymaking and strengthen international cooperation.
Experts discussed the SCO’s role in the changing global order, focusing on regional security, information sovereignty, trade and economic cooperation, and cultural exchanges among member states.
The SCO Expert Forum is part of the SCO Media and Think Tank Summit, jointly organized by Xinhua News Agency and Kyrgyz national news agency Kabar.
Founded in 2001, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization comprises India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Belarus, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan, with Afghanistan and Mongolia as observer states and several dialogue partners across Asia and the Middle East.
