President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan departed for Kyrgyzstan on Monday to attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), where he is expected to hold talks with world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Erdoğan traveled to Bishkek at the invitation of Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov for a two-day visit. First lady Emine Erdoğan and a Turkish delegation accompanied him.
The Turkish president is scheduled to address an expanded-format session of the summit on Tuesday and hold a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines.
Türkiye in recent years signaled an interest in deepening its ties with the organization. Erdoğan has previously raised the prospect of Türkiye eventually seeking full membership, a move that would make the NATO member the first country in the Western military alliance to join the SCO.
The Bishkek summit is expected to focus on international and regional security, economic cooperation and efforts to strengthen the organization, according to Kyrgyz authorities.
Leaders are expected to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war, instability in the Middle East and security risks related to Afghanistan, as well as cooperation against terrorism, separatism, transnational organized crime and drug trafficking.
Economic cooperation will also feature prominently, including efforts to increase the use of national currencies in trade and plans for an SCO development bank.
One of Erdoğan's key meetings on the sidelines will be with Putin on Sept. 1.
Russian presidential foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov confirmed the meeting. “There are many issues to discuss; of course, these include the situation in the Black Sea and the Ukraine issue in general,” Ushakov told reporters.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
Türkiye has sought to maintain diplomatic channels with both Moscow and Kyiv since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war and has repeatedly offered to facilitate negotiations aimed at ending the conflict. Istanbul has previously hosted several rounds of negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
Erdoğan and Putin are also expected to discuss regional developments, including Syria, as well as energy and economic ties. Türkiye and Russia cooperate on several major energy projects, including the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, while Ankara has also pursued plans to establish a natural gas trading hub.
According to Ushakov, Putin plans to hold nine bilateral meetings during the summit, including talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The summit, chaired by Japarov at the Yntymak Ordo state complex in Bishkek, is expected to conclude with the adoption of a declaration marking the SCO's 25th anniversary and decisions aimed at expanding cooperation in politics, trade, transportation, logistics, digitalization and environmental issues.
An expanded “SCO ” meeting will also focus on strengthening international law, supporting sustainable development and promoting mutually beneficial cooperation.
Türkiye joined the SCO as a Dialogue Partner in 2013 and was granted the chairmanship of the international body’s energy club for one year in 2016. Ankara has previously expressed its desire for full membership in the SCO.
The SCO traces its roots to the "Shanghai Five" mechanism – China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan - before Uzbekistan joined as the sixth member. Today, the organization includes 10 member states, two observers, and 14 dialogue partners across Asia, Europe, and Africa.
It covers about 24% of the world's land area and 42% of the global population. Member states account for roughly one quarter of global GDP, with total trade increasing nearly 100-fold in the past two decades. Their share of world trade rose from 5.4% in 2001 to 17.5% in 2020.
