SCO

What SCO does

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered at the Secretariat in Beijing, China, established by charter signed on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai. Originally founded by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to address regional security and economic cooperation, SCO expanded with India and Pakistan joining as full members in 2017 and Belarus becoming the ninth full member in 2023. The organization collectively represents approximately 40% of the world's population across nine sovereign states spanning Central Asia, South Asia, East Asia, and Eastern Europe. SCO is not a commercial enterprise and has no disclosed revenue, pricing model, or product portfolio; it is funded by member-state contributions and operates on the basis of the "Shanghai Spirit" — mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for cultural diversity, and aspiration for common development.

SCO's functional structure comprises the Council of Heads of State, Council of Heads of Government, Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, and a network of sectoral ministerial councils (defense, security, justice, transport, education, culture, health, ICT, environment, tourism, agriculture, emergency response). Operational subsidiary bodies include the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) for counter-terrorism coordination, the SCO Business Council for commercial cooperation, the SCO Interbank Association for financial cooperation, and the SCO Agricultural Technology Exchange and Training Demonstration Zone. Additional programs include SCO University, the SCO Youth Council, the SCO Women's Forum, and the SCO Marathon, reflecting an expanding cultural and humanitarian track.

SCO's go-to-market is institutional diplomacy rather than commercial sales. Outreach is conducted via the official multilingual website (eng.sectsco.org), regular summits and ministerial meetings, press conferences led by the Secretary-General, and bilateral engagements with international partners. The current Secretary-General is Nurlan Yermekbayev; multiple Deputy Secretaries-General support the Secretariat's work. SCO maintains active cooperation partnerships with the United Nations and its specialized agencies (including FAO and UNESCO), the Eurasian Economic Commission, CIS, CSTO, ASEAN, ICRC, CICA, CARICC, and the Roscongress Foundation. The rotating chairmanship for 2025-2026 is held by the Kyrgyz Republic, and the organization marked its 25th anniversary with grand celebrations in Beijing in June 2026.

Name

SCO

Legal name

Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Website

https://eng.sectsco.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Beijing, serving nine Eurasian member states (China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and Central Asian states plus Belarus) through multilateral cooperation in security, trade, and cultural exchange.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Intergovernmental Cooperation

NAICS

International Affairs (928120), International Affairs (92812), National Security (928110)

SIC

International Affairs (9721), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

United Nations System & Specialized Agencies (BPADAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

International Economic & Trade Cooperation Organizations (BPADAAAC), Security Sector Governance & Police Reform (BPADAGAI)

Keywords

• Intergovernmental cooperation
• Multilateral diplomacy
• Regional security coordination
• Trade facilitation
• Cultural exchange programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Beijing

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an intergovernmental body that provides a multilateral framework for political dialogue, security cooperation, trade and economic cooperation, and cultural and humanitarian exchange among its member states. It operates through the SCO Secretariat in Beijing and subsidiary bodies such as the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), the SCO Business Council, the SCO Interbank Association, and the SCO Agricultural Technology Exchange and Training Demonstration Zone.

Product overview

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is an intergovernmental organization that serves as a Eurasian political, economic, security, and military alliance. It is not a technology product company. The organization focuses on political and diplomatic cooperation, trade and economic cooperation, cultural and humanitarian cooperation, and external cooperation among its member states. The SCO's activities include hosting summits, organizing ministerial meetings, facilitating dialogue platforms, and implementing various cooperation mechanisms in areas such as security, trade, energy, transport, agriculture, education, healthcare, and culture. No commercial products or services are offered by this organization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• United Nations (UN) and specialized agenciescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCO maintains active cooperation with the UN and its specialized agencies including participation in Global Counter-Terrorism Week, joint anti-drug events, and Fourth Round of Consultations between SCO and UN Secretariats held at UN Headquarters in June 2026
• Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCO cooperates with the EEC on economic integration and trade facilitation matters. Meetings between SCO Secretary-General and EEC Chairman of the Board have taken place regularly
• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint action plan between SCO Secretariat and FAO for cooperation on food security, agricultural development, and rural development. Regular SCO-FAO dialogue events on sustainable food systems
• Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCO participates in CIS Council of Heads of Government meetings and cooperates on economic and humanitarian issues of mutual interest
• Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCO participates in CSTO events including Scientific Conference and Council of Foreign Ministers meetings. Joint working groups on Afghanistan cooperation
• ASEANcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCO Secretary-General participates in Russia-ASEAN Summits. Regular cooperation with ASEAN on regional security and economic matters. China-ASEAN Expo cooperation noted
• International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCO Secretary-General meets with ICRC representatives including the President in Singapore and Regional Director for Middle East on humanitarian cooperation matters
• Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCO participates in CICA events. SCO Secretary-General visited CICA Secretariat in March 2026 to mark the 20th anniversary of the CICA Secretariat
• Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation OrganizationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCO holds meetings with representatives of the Global Energy Interconnection organization on energy cooperation among member states
• Roscongress FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSCO Secretariat and Roscongress Foundation signed Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation on economic forums and investment events
• UNESCO Beijing Cluster OfficeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeputy Secretary-General of SCO meets with Director of UNESCO Beijing on cultural and educational cooperation

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• European Union (EU): Sui generis supranational intergovernmental union combining political, economic, and security coordination with binding enforcement mechanisms; comparable as a model of regional integration that SCO dialogue partners sometimes engage with.
• Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU): Russia-led economic integration bloc of Eurasian states with deeper binding trade and customs mechanisms than SCO; overlaps with SCO membership and complements SCO's broader political and security mandate.
• African Union (AU): Continental intergovernmental organization coordinating political, security, and economic cooperation among African member states; structurally similar to SCO in mandate and consensus-based architecture, though geographically distinct.
• G20: Premier forum for international economic cooperation among major advanced and emerging economies, several of which overlap with SCO membership (China, Russia, India); comparable as a convening platform for global agenda-setting.

Direct peers

• United Nations (UN): The pre-eminent multilateral intergovernmental organization; directly comparable to SCO as a charter-based body coordinating security, economic, and humanitarian cooperation among sovereign states, with which SCO maintains an active cooperation relationship.
• ASEAN: Regional intergovernmental organization of ten Southeast Asian states with similar consensus-based governance, summit-driven diplomacy, and dialogue-partner architecture; SCO and ASEAN hold regular Russia-ASEAN Summits, indicating comparable operating models.
• Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA): Asian intergovernmental forum for confidence-building and security dialogue overlapping in membership and mandate with SCO; SCO-CICA cooperation including the Secretary-General's 2026 visit is documented.
• Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO): Russia-led intergovernmental military alliance of post-Soviet states; directly comparable to SCO's RATS function with a narrower security-only mandate, and SCO-CSTO joint working groups are documented.
• BRICS: Intergovernmental forum of major emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa plus new members) sharing SCO's largest-member overlap and similar focus on alternative financial, trade, and geopolitical coordination.
• Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS): Regional intergovernmental organization of post-Soviet states overlapping significantly with SCO membership; SCO-CIS cooperation on economic and humanitarian matters is explicitly documented.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/scobeijing
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/scoofficial

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about SCO