| Summary/Abstract |
What has the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) done to benefit its operation over the past fifteen years? During this time the SCO has experienced vigorous and extensive growth. It has launched a variety of diversified mechanisms intended to promote concerted action along three main lines-security and stability, trade and economics, and culture and humanitarian affairs. While the SCO has not been as effective in all of these spheres as it planned initially, its geographic expansion has been unexpectedly rapid. In addition to six founding states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan), the SCO now includes six observer countries (Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Iran, Mongolia, and Pakistan) and six dialogue partners (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey, and Sri Lanka). The SCO has won wide international acclaim, of which its observer status at the UN General Assembly is unmistakable evidence.
|