SCO Summit 2025 in Tianjin- India Participation in the SCO Summit

The SCO Summit 2025 in Tianjin demonstrated Indian strategic diplomacy, denounced terrorism, and promoted Eurasian collaboration with institutional reforms, development agendas, and a multi-polar message.At the SCO Trade Ministers' Meeting in Vladivostok on September 6, 2025, India highlighted the potential to use the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's (SCO) collective strengths for shared prosperity. It also highlighted the importance of export diversification, decreasing dependence, and creating robust supply chains.

At the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, held in Tianjin, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, joined Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a high-visibility display of cohesion. This metaphorical show emphasized the very changes of the relations of multilateral interaction in the light of the alteration of the world forces and the increase of geopolitical tension. Initially formed in 2001 to focus on quickening security issues in the area, the SCO has later been widened to include the economic co-operation, counter-terrorism, digital management, and exchange of cultures. The active involvement of India in the 2025 is an indication of the strategic recalibration in responding to tariff pressures by the United States and its efforts to diversify in partnership dealings in Eurasia.The Tianjin Summit resulted in having a big wave of fruits such as having the Tianjin declaration of recognition, the formation of the SCO development bank, and a path towards energy and digital cooperation. Notably, the summit denounced the Pahalgam terror attack, thereby uniting the member states in counter-terrorism priorities. This article discusses the SCO historical voyage, its current eminence, the Indian foreign policy orientation, and the material results of the 2025 summit. It examines how India maneuvers its way in the mazes of regional alliance and, at the same time, strives to establish its interest within the multi-polar world order, which is increasingly characterized by strategic fluidity and institutional innovation.

Prime Minister participates in the 25th SCO Summit in Tianjin, China (September 01, 2025)

The 25th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which held place in Tianjin, China, from August 31 to September 1, 2025, was attended by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. SCO Development Strategy, Global Governance Reform, Counter-Terrorism, Peace and Security, Economic and Financial Cooperation, and Sustainable Development were amongst the subjects of productive debate at the summit.The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has become one of the most influential multilateral organizations in Eurasia and has since developed a highly contextual macrocosm in the form of a regional alliance that may have global implications, unlike its modest security formation.

Shanghai Five Framework
The SCO has its origins with the Shanghai Five, which is an assembly that was established in 1996 by China and Russia in collaboration with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. The group initially focused on confidence-building and demilitarization along the usual frontiers and later negotiated the Treaties. These treaties established the basis of stability in the region and the implementation of mutual security with much focus on non-aggression and mutually beneficial participation between them.

Institutionalization and Growth
The entry of Uzbekistan in 2001 had transformed the Shanghai Five into the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. The Objectives were codified in the SCO Charter, which was signed in 2002 and began serving in 2003, and included the incentive of the protection of regional peace, economic cooperation, and the fight against terrorism, separatism, and extremist activity, collectively all known as the “Three Evils”. The headquarters of the organization were established in Beijing, whereas the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) was stationed in Tashkent, meaning that the organization was of dual nature, i.e., diplomatic as well as safe-havens.

Strategic Enlargement and Multipolar Vision
A change in the direction of SCO began when South Asia became part of it in 2017, with India and Pakistan on board, and this contributed to adding Asia to this organization which increased its influence in the field of geopolitics. Iran became a member in 2023, with Belarus following in 2024 and signaling a growing perceived strength of the SCO to the west dominated blocs. This expansion has presented the fact that the SCO is committed to the multipolar world order as stipulated in the Sino-Russian declaration of global pluralism of 1997. The organization currently encompasses more than 40 percent of the global people and almost 25 percent of the world's GDP, and thus it is the biggest regional Organisation in geographic terms.

Who will lead the SCO in 2025?

On January 1, 2025, Ularbek Sharsheev of Kyrgyzstan became the current Director. A permanent representative is also sent to RATS by each member state. Russian and Chinese are the SCO's official languages.

What is the India-hosted SCO summit? India's SCO Presidency (2022–2023)

The topic of the Summit was 'Towards a SECURE SCO. SECURE stands for Security, Economy and Trade, Connectivity, Unity, Respect for Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity, and Environment. The Prime Minister came up with the acronym during the 2018 SCO Summit.

Who attended SCO Summit 2025 from India?

From August 31 to September 1, 2025, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi attended the 25th Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's (SCO) Council of Heads of State in Tianjin, China.

Present Relevance and Evolving Agenda
Although it was at the onset security-focused, the SCO has come to extend its agenda to matters of economic integration, digital governance, energy cooperation, and cultural exchange. Financial cooperation is facilitated through such structures as the SCO Business Council and Interbank Consortium, and collective security is reinforced through such mechanisms as joint military drills like the "Peace Mission".

Contemporary significance

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has come out as an international potent instrument in the 21stcentury, signifying the shift in the strategic orientation of Eurasian powers as well as the increasing attractiveness of non-Western institutional modes.

Multi-polarity and Strategic Autonomy
In a world defined by geopolitical movement, the SCO provides member nations with the means through which they exercise strategic autonomy and oppose unilateralism. The 2025 Tianjin Summit restated the fact that the bloc believed in a multipolar world order, as leaders such as Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin argued that the organizations should all participate in global governance.

Counterterror and Security Cooperation
The SCO has a Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), based at Tashkent, which has remained at the heart of its security agenda. The Pahalgam terror attack was denounced by the 2025 summit, including the determination to preserve its unity of action opposing extremism. India has repeatedly advocated for a more acute counterterrorism compromise, particularly against the transnational elements. The point of joint operations, such as Peace Mission and intelligence sharing procedures, boost the synergy in operations between member states.

Integration and connectivity in the economies
Economic relevance of the SCO has also been enhanced via some developments, such as the proposed SCO Development Bank and the extended Interbank Consortium. India's imperative of connectivity that respects sovereignty, particularly in rejection of the Belt and Road Initiative of China, was reiterated at the summit. Initiatives such as the Chabahar Port and an International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) offer India other paths of trade, extending her presence in Central Asia.

Cultural Diplomacy and dialogue of civilization
In addition to the concept of hard power, the SCO fosters cultural exchange, education, and dialogue between civilizations as a form of soft power. In 2025, India suggested a permanent civilizational dialogue mechanism to encourage the understanding of each other, irrespective of tradition. The ethos behind the bloc remains consistently evident in the spirit of mutual trust, equality, and acceptance of diversity, all of which are part of the Shanghai Spirit, which is still influential, now that it has been several decades since its announcement.

A Strategic Engagement of India in 2025

The political decision to attend the 25th SCO Summits in Tianjin in 2025 was a measured strategic control with regional cooperation and national interests growing between the changing geopolitical pressure and the institutional changes of the SCO.

The Review of the Three-Pillar Doctrine
Prime Minister Narendra Modi re-stated the country's security, connectivity, and opportunity model, which he advocated, pointing out that there should be zero tolerance to terrorism, that sovereignty should be respected even in strategic connectivity initiatives, and that no one should get left out in the economic development process. This has enabled India to maintain its normative tastes as it enjoys a constructive relationship with the member states, including China and Pakistan, though conflicts still belong to the nature of the relationships.

Setting Norms and Counterterrorism
India took a dominant role to form the security agenda in the summit. The Tianjing Declaration directs to condemn the Terror attack in April 2025 in Pahalgam, which accords with the long-held demands of India for unanimous action against cross-border terrorism. India further advocated the new Cooperation Programme (2026-2030) by the SCO in its fight against extremist ideologies, and this strengthens its status as a normative leader in the regional security discussion.

Multi-Alignment and Diplomacy
The summit was a strategic venue for signaling on the part of India. The meeting of Modi with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin appeared together and was orchestrated to declare multi-alignment on the part of India and the importance of the country in Eurasian affairs. As the relationship between India and the United States is still framing the relationship, its interaction with the SCO displays a more practical rebalancing attitude: to use the multilateral forums to strategically diversify the partnerships and proactively increase its strategic leverage.

Economic and Cost Facility
India received the proposal well so as to form an SCO Development Bank, to facilitate infrastructure and social collaboration among member states. Nonetheless, it still resisted connectivity projects that by-pass territorial sovereignty, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Another area that India prioritizes is vocational training and digital delivery innovations, which fit its domestic interests and regional expansion.

Civilizational Dialogue and Soft Power
India suggested the idea of a permanent platform for the civilization dialogue, with the focus on such an approach as cultural diplomacy as a mechanism of cohesion in the region. The initiative is part of a larger soft power policy of India, concerted on being a bridge-builder in the ominous and varied Eurasian space.

The Tianjin Summit

A major institutional maturity and geopolitical relevance breakthrough, the 25thSCO Summit held at Tianjin in 2025, resulted in a list of declarations, reforms, and strategic initiatives.

Tianjin Declaration
The main political result of the summit was the reaffirmation of the SCO to multi-polarity, sovereign equality, and resistance against unilateralism through the Tianjin declaration. It clearly denounced the Pahalgam terror attack in India, the first such statement made by any leader ever. This was an agreement on gaining consensus on counterterrorism, as well as a success of India in the form of its ability to influence the discourse on security.

Institutional and Structural Reforms
Another significant point of influence was the possibility to integrate observer states and dialogue partners into the single category of the SCO Partners and enlarge the organization to 27 country participants. Laos received the status of partner, denoting the outreach aspect of the SCO to Southeast Asia. Four new centers were also opened in order to deal with transnational organized crime, cybersecurity, anti-drug cooperation, and emerging security threats.

Economic-Development Initiatives
Theyapproved the SCO Development Strategy (2026-2035) and a Roadmap of Energy Cooperation until 2030 that established the foundation on the basis of long-term economic integration. The move of establishing an SCO Development Bank was a successful step towards reducing the reliance on Western financial systems. China committed 2 billion Yen aid and 10 billion Yen loans to finance infrastructure and green project development initiatives to member states.

Technology, education and climate co-operation
The summit focused on collaboration in artificial intelligence, digital economy and vocational education. An AI governance roadmap was embraced and advocated open-source models and equal access. Social agenda of the summit had such a proposal made by India on a normative platform of civilizational dialogue and the same advocacy on the One Earth, One Family, One Future vision that augmented the idea of inclusive development and cultural diplomacy.

Conclusion

The 2025 SCO Summit in Tianjin helped in reinstating the increased viability of the organization as an arena of stability in the region, economic integration, and normative leadership in a multipolar world. The complex geopolitical environments combined with India being able to pursue its national interests, including its promotion of counterterrorism and sovereignty-respecting connectivity, coupled with active civilizational dialogue, were manifested in its strategic involvement wrought by its advocacy in this area. The results of the summit with their Tianjin Declaration, institutional reform, and the plan on the establishment of an SCO Development Bank are the indicators of maturing multilateralism founded on the values and realistic cooperation. As SCO widens thematic and geographical boundaries, it is providing member states such as India a platform to realign foreign policy, diversify alliances, and contribute to the international governance standards. Here, the Indian participation is not only contributory but is increasingly agenda-forming, which is indicative of India's agenda of having an independent strategic course and collective development based acculturation. The development of the SCO can, therefore, be traced to overall changes in global politics, in which regional forums are increasingly gaining prominence in international discussion and in institutional Innovation.