The
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), or
Shanghai Pact, is a
Eurasian political,
economic, and
security alliance. It is the world's largest regional organisation in
geographic scope and
population, covering
three-fifths of the
Eurasian continent,
40% of the human population, and more than
20% of global GDP.
The
SCO is the
successor to the Shanghai Five, a mutual security agreement formed in
1996 between
China,
Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan,
Russia, and
Tajikistan. On
15 June 2001, the leaders of these nations and
Uzbekistan met in
Shanghai to announce a new organisation with deeper political and economic cooperation; the SCO established the following year with the signing of its charter, which entered into force on
19 September 2003. Its membership has since expanded to eight states, with
India and
Pakistan joining on
9 June 2017. Several countries are engaged as
observers or
partners.
The SCO is governed by the
Heads of State Council (HSC), its supreme decision-making body, which meets once a year.
Military exercises are also regularly conducted among members to promote cooperation and coordination against terrorism and other external threats, and to maintain regional peace and stability.