September 1, 2025 – Tianjin, China
At the invitation of the Government of the People’s Republic of China, the Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), H.E. Dr. Asad M. Khan, attended the Summit of the Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in SCO Plus format.
Preceded by the SCO Summit, the SCO Plus Summit was the largest ever SCO event, bringing together heads of state and government from around two dozen countries and representaitves of 9 international organizations. At Summit, the leaders welcomed the inclusion of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic as the 15th SCO dialogue partner. They also welcomed the upcoming chairmanship of the Kyrgyz Republic of SCO for 2026.
Chairing the Summit, the Chinese President, H.E. Xi Jinping, introduced the Global Governance Initiative, which is aimed at better safeguarding global peace and security. He also welcomed the establishment of the SCO Universal Center for Countering Security Threats and the SCO Anti-Drug Center. Discussions during the Summit centered on narrowing global inequalities, reforming international security architecture, countering unilateralism, and strengthening multilateralism for a safe, secure, sustainable, and prosperous world.
At the Summit in Tianjin, ECO Secretary General Dr. Khan availed the opportunity to meet and greet the ECO leaders in attendance. On the margins of the event, he engaged bilaterally with heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to explore avenues for collaboration and strengthen partnerships. He also gave an exclusive interview to China Global Television Network (CGTN), highlighting ECO’s role in fostering regional connectivity and sustainable development.
In Beijing, Dr. Khan visited the headquarters of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), where he met the Bank’s senior leadership and discussed potential cooperation in infrastructure development and financing initiatives within the ECO region. He also visited the SCO Secretariat and met with his SCO counterpart to promote ECO-SCO relations.
ECO attaches great importance to its relations with SCO. Both organizations share numerous identical objectives and have a Memorandum of Understanding in place to collaborate in areas of mutual interest.
