Regional and International Cooperation of SCO+ Countries to Promote SDG Implementation
SDG 17
November 20, 14:00-18:00
Academic Council Hall
Session
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their targets are organically aligned with the key areas of activity of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) aimed at ensuring peace, security, and stability in the Eurasian space.
According to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, it is essential to ensure a balanced combination of economic growth with addressing large-scale social and environmental challenges, including: developing education and healthcare systems; improving social protection for the population; promoting decent employment; and environmental protection and addressing climate change impacts.
Consequently, the foundational documents of the SCO (the SCO Charter, and the Treaty on Long-Term Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation) enshrine as priorities promoting economic and social progress, deepening regional integration, developing transport and energy connectivity, and implementing joint programmes in culture, science, and environment. The activities of the Organisation, including the SCO+ format for interacting with observer states and dialogue partners, are conceptually aligned with the global Sustainable Development Goals, contributing to the formation of a space for sustainable and inclusive growth in Eurasia.
The goal of the session is to review multilateral cooperation among the SCO+ countries (including Member States, observers, and partners) in achieving the SDGs at regional and global levels, as well as the role of joint scientific, educational, and technological initiatives in this process.
Facts and Figures
The SCO+ region (including Member States, observers, and dialogue partners) generates 32 per cent of global GDP. The countries of the association already account for about a third of the global gross product, and their total exports comprise approximately a fifth of the world total. The total population of the SCO+ region is around 3.5 billion people, or 42 per cent of the planet's population, and they occupy 65 per cent of the territory of Eurasia.
Sustainable development and progress towards the SDGs: 2025 was declared the SCO Year of Sustainable Development. The organisation is demonstrating a leading pace: 62 per cent of the Sustainable Development Goals indicators in the ‘SCO+’ countries are being met at a satisfactory rate, compared to only about 18 per cent globally. The SCO Development Strategy until 2035 was approved at the Tianjin Summit (September 2025). The SCO Member States agreed to establish the Council on Sustainable Development at Russia's initiative, which will focus on updating the SDGs for the regions.
Food security and agriculture: The 10th Meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of the SCO Member States was held in Kunming (China) in July 2025, reaffirming the commitment to deepening regional cooperation in food security, climate-resilient technologies, and rural development. The volume of agricultural trade between China and the SCO countries reached USD 18.6 billion, increasing nearly fourfold since 2010.
Climate change and environmental initiatives: The SCO environmental agenda focuses on climate change, land degradation, water scarcity, loss of biodiversity, and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events. At the 7th Meeting of Heads of Environmental Protection Agencies of the SCO Member States (Bishkek, 2–3 April 2026), Uzbekistan proposed a number of new initiatives: the draft Agreement on Climate Change between the SCO Member States; the creation of the Special Working Group on Climate Change; and the launch of the Regional Platform for Climate Change Adaptation, Decarbonisation, and the Application of Artificial Intelligence for Predicting Environmental Risks. The countries also agreed on environmental initiatives until 2031, including improving air quality and conserving biodiversity.
Joint environmental projects: The SCO Member States agreed on environmental initiatives up to 2031, including an initiative for improving ambient air quality, as well as conserving and sustainably managing the biodiversity of Eurasia, with a corresponding action plan for 2026–2031. President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed an initiative to establish the SCO Water Research Centre in Kazakhstan to jointly develop effective strategies for combating desertification, droughts, the shrinking of water bodies, the melting of glaciers, and other environmental issues. The implementation of the Joint Action Plan for the Realisation of the SCO “Green Belt” Programme for 2024–2026 continues.
Discussion Issues
What are the main barriers and drivers of regional cooperation within the SCO+ framework for achieving the SDGs?
How does expanding the membership (observers and dialogue partners) impact the efficiency of SDG implementation within the SCO+ space?
What international partnership mechanisms (including cooperation with the UN, FAO, and UNEP) can strengthen the contribution of the SCO+ countries to the global sustainable development agenda?v
What role do joint scientific, educational, and technological initiatives of the SCO+ countries play in accelerating progress towards the SDGs?
What specific regional cooperation projects in water resources, food security, and green energy are already being implemented within the SCO+ framework, and which ones need scaling up?
Programme
Session Moderators' Welcoming Remarks
Konstantin Kurylev (Russia)
Head of the Department of Theory and History of International Relations at RUDN University
Ibragim Mavlanov (Uzbekistan)
Professor of the University of World Economy and Diplomacy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Topic of the report
Strengthening the global partnership among SCO Member States to increase the share of exports in world trade: through the prism of sustainable development priorities
Ibragim Mavlanov (Uzbekistan)
Professor of the University of World Economy and Diplomacy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Topic of the report
SCO Member States' policies in SDG implementation: common approaches and differences
Sergey Zhiltsov (Russia)
Head of the Department of Political Science and Political Philosophy at the Diplomatic Academy of MGIMO University, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia
Topic of the report
The WEBS nexus as a platform for regional cooperation: C5+Big2 within the SCO+ framework
Kubatbek Rakhimov (Kyrgyzstan)
Executive Director of the Applicata – Centre for Strategic Solutions Public Foundation; Invited Expert of the National Secretariat for Sustainable Development of the Kyrgyz Republic (2017–2018); and Full-Time Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic on Macroeconomics and Eurasian Integration (2019–2020)
Topic of the report
Features of international cooperation among the SCO Member States in pursuit of SDG 17
Igor Filkevich (Russia)
RSPP (Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs) Expert, Member of the Working Group of the Eurasian Economic Commission, Advisor
Topic of the report
Multi-Alignment as Climate Action: India's Role in SCO+ Governance
Archana Upadhyay (India)
Head of the Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Topic of the report
China in the SCO: progress, strategy, and prospects
Ce Yiping (China)
Professor of the Department of History at Yan'an University
Topic of the report
The cryosphere as a new dimension of international relations: Tajikistan's initiatives and prospects for cooperation among the SCO+ countries
Zulfiya Kurbonzoda (Tajikistan)
Deputy Director for Science and Innovation at the Research Institute for Sustainable Development and Green Economy of the International University of Tourism and Entrepreneurship of Tajikistan
Topic of the report
SCO+ as a platform for shaping a polycentric architecture of global governance for sustainable development
Maria Lagutina (Russia)
Professor of the Department of World Politics at Saint Petersburg State University
Topic of the report
Transport connectivity of Central Asia as a tool for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: the experience of Kazakhstan
Taisiya Marmontova (Kazakhstan)
Professor of the Institute of Diplomacy at the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Topic of the report
The SCO factor in the context of modern trends in the development of Russia's humanitarian policy and international educational cooperation
Alexander Gushchin (Russia)
Senior Researcher of the Institute of Eurasian and Interregional Studies at the Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH)
Topic of the report
The Republic of Belarus in the SCO: key interests and prospects
Alexander Tikhomirov (Belarus)
Associate Professor of the Department of International Relations at the Faculty of International Relations, Belarusian State University
Topic of the report
Digitalisation of cultural heritage as a tool for sustainable development: national projects and problems of cooperation among the SCO countries
Oksana Morgunova (Russia)
Associate Professor of the Department of Theory and History of International Relations at RUDN University
