The western media largely ignored the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit held on the 15-16th of September in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. But, the annual summit was notable for many reasons, and there were implications for the West and the world order.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a grouping of eight permanent member states - China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. With the two most populous nations as members, it is currently the largest regional bloc in the world. The Eurasian political, economic and military organization, which began as the Shanghai Five in 1996, came into its present form in 2003. The organization aims to enhance military cooperation and intelligence sharing, counter terrorism, settle border disputes, and counter American influence in Central Asia.
