Xi Jinping, China's leader, welcomes the United Nations Secretary-General before a significant SCO summit in Tianjin.
In the port city of Tianjin, China, over 20 heads of state and government, as well as leaders from 10 international organizations, have gathered for the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. The rotating chair of the 10-member political and security alliance is China, marking their fifth time hosting the annual SCO gathering.
Among the high-profile attendees are Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian President Masood Pezeshkian, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Notably, the summit comes as recent diplomatic developments have renewed speculation about potential peace talks, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian President, indicating a willingness to meet Putin in Turkey, Switzerland, or Austria, while the Turkish vice president suggested such a meeting could take place in Istanbul.
The agenda of the summit centers on promoting the "Shanghai Spirit" and strengthening cooperation across security, economic, and cultural spheres. The SCO, established in 2001, has expanded significantly since its origins as the "Shanghai Five" border security group in 1996, adding India and Pakistan in 2017, Iran in 2021, and most recently Belarus this year. The SCO members, which include China, Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus, collectively represent about 40% of the world's population and control roughly 30% of global GDP across 65% of the Eurasian continent.
Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to the summit, while also scheduling a separate meeting with Erdogan on the summit's sidelines. The summit will also see the signing of the Tianjin Declaration and the approval of a strategic framework for the next decade.
As the SCO has emerged as a counterweight to Western-led international organizations, the summit's discussions are expected to cover a wide range of global issues. Turkey, playing an important role in the diplomatic efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis, will participate as a dialogue partner alongside 13 other nations.
Following the SCO summit, Xi Jinping will host Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a military parade on Sept. 3 to commemorate the World War II anniversary. Leaders will also issue statements commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the United Nations' founding.
No additional politicians not already mentioned in the original text appear explicitly named in the search results as attending the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. The known participants include leaders from member states such as China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, and Belarus, as well as observers, dialogue partners, and guest organizations, but no new individual politicians are specifically listed.
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