Prabowo will attend as an observer, following an invitation from President Xi, conveyed by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a bilateral meeting with Indonesian officials in Beijing last April.
At a press conference in Beijing on Friday, Liu Bin, assistant to the minister, noted that this year’s summit will be the largest since the SCO’s founding and the fifth time China has hosted the event.
“President Xi Jinping will convene with more than 20 heads of state and 10 leaders of international organizations,” Liu said.
He described the 2025 SCO Summit as a major diplomatic milestone for China, highlighting its role in fostering multilateral cooperation and facilitating dialogue on key regional and global issues.
Presidents expected to attend include Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Türkiye), Alexander Lukashenko (Belarus), Masoud Pezeshkian (Iran), Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (Kazakhstan), Sadyr Japarov (Kyrgyzstan), Emomali Rahmon (Tajikistan), Shavkat Mirziyoyev (Uzbekistan), Ilham Aliyev (Azerbaijan), Serdar Berdimuhamedow (Turkmenistan), Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh (Mongolia), and Mohamed Muizzu (Maldives).
Several heads of government will also be present, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Nepalese Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli, and Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.
In addition to President Prabowo, Southeast Asia will be represented by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith.
The summit will also feature United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev, and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn, among other international organization leaders.
Founded in 2001, the SCO was established to address shared concerns such as terrorism, religious extremism, border security, drug trafficking, and separatism. Its founding members include China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
India and Pakistan joined in 2017, followed by Iran in 2023 and Belarus in 2024. As of 2021, the SCO accounted for 20 percent of global GDP, covered 80 percent of Eurasian territory, and represented 40 percent of the world’s population.
With Iran’s accession, the organization now encompasses 20 percent of global oil reserves and 44 percent of natural gas reserves. Its expanding membership has also shifted its focus toward economic cooperation and development initiatives.
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Translator: Desca L, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
Copyright © ANTARA 2025
