The Republic of Belarus has clearly expressed a desire to cooperate and build relationships in its foreign policy. As a country with an open economy (export quota exceeds 50%), Belarus has long been actively involved in various integration associations in the region (the CIS, EAEU, and the Union State of Belarus and Russia), international organisations (CSTO) and initiatives (for example, China’s Belt and Road). At the same time, the range of foreign policy and foreign economic interests of the Belarusian state is quite wide. Despite its geographical location in the centre of Europe, Belarus has developed its most effective and sustainable cooperation with the countries of Eurasia. Moreover, in the context of international tension and geo-economic instability, the Eurasian region has opened up in a new way for Belarus in matters of ensuring national security. This is, first of all, dictated by the commonality of approaches with these countries under the formula “peacefulness and openness – mutual respect for traditions and borders – mutually beneficial bilateral and multilateral relations.” An additional impetus for strengthening the Eurasian vector in foreign policy and revising the National Security Concept of Belarus and its Military Doctrine largely came from the unfriendly and destructive actions of Western countries towards Belarus and near its borders.
Without exaggeration, we can say that the SCO for the Republic of Belarus has become an example of strengthening regional security and stability in Eurasia. The goals of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, stated at its inception, are: “strengthening mutual trust and good neighbourliness between member states; promoting effective cooperation in political, trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural matters, as well as in the fields of education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection and others; jointly ensuring and maintaining peace, security and stability in the region; and progress towards the creation of a democratic, fair and rational new international political and economic order”. This is certainly close to the Belarusian vision. Belarus shares “the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty, independence, equality, mutual understanding and respect for the opinions of each member state, the peaceful resolution of disagreements and non-direction of the SCO against other states and international organizations, etc.”
In the eyes of Belarus, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation has become a significant and respected institution on the world stage over its more than twenty-year history. If the emergence of the SCO was a response to changing conditions in the system of international relations and the desire to unite the efforts of interested countries in the face of such challenges as territorial and border disputes, the spread of terrorism, separatism, extremism, international crime, then, since 2002, the SCO has acquired the contours of a permanent intergovernmental international organisation. Now the SCO has even gone beyond the interests of ensuring security, countering terrorism and international crime in general. Ideas are emerging about adopting an SCO Human Rights Convention. Also on the agenda for discussion is a fairly wide range of economic issues, for example, economic and humanitarian interaction between countries, the development of economic cooperation with an emphasis on digitalisation, the development of modern agricultural clusters and smart agriculture that does not pollute the environment, and others. The voice of those who support the creation of a free trade zone in the long-term, the formation of a fund and a development bank, and the implementation of multilateral projects is becoming louder.
Minsk’s path to the SCO took 14 years. The Republic received the status of a dialogue partner in 2010; in 2015 it became an observer country, and on July 4, 2024 it became a full member of this organisation and the first European country among the SCO’s top ten. Over these years, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation for Belarus has become a platform for strengthening cooperation with partner countries already familiar from other integration projects, it has expanded the dialogue with China, and also served to create trusting relations with such countries, as India, Iran, and Pakistan. Belarus’ participation in the SCO means both additional security guarantees and new opportunities for trade as well as economic, innovation, cultural and humanitarian cooperation.
The active promotion of Belarus’ national interests in obtaining the status of a full member of the SCO occurred simultaneously with the adoption of the new Concept of National Security of Belarus. This document has been significantly revised compared to the previous concept (2012). The text takes new risks, challenges and threats into account. In addition to participation in the CSTO, defined by the document as an integral part of international and Eurasian security, measures to protect against external threats to national security also include “active participation in events to enhance the role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the world” and “the use of its institutions and mechanisms to realize national interests in various fields “. The consolidation of the SCO in the Belarusian National Security Concept indicates a thoughtful and consistent desire to be a “member of the SCO family.”
Even before officially joining the SCO, Belarus actively promoted various initiatives on this platform and joined the open projects of member states, including: intensifying cooperation and adopting a “Road Map” for developing interaction with observer states and dialogue partners, which opened up the opportunity for the participation of representatives of these states in ministerial and expert meetings of the SCO, SCO University, and accession to the agreement between the governments of the SCO member states on creating favourable conditions for international road transport. An important prospect for participation in the SCO for Belarus is to reduce political risks and increase the level of trade and economic cooperation in the region, interaction in promoting digital transformation and the use of artificial intelligence, the use of “green” technologies and industrial cooperation, the formation of a developed transport and logistics infrastructure and, in general, “seamless” transport space for the SCO.
Membership in the SCO does not imply “bloc thinking” or a unified approach for member states in demonstrating their position in the international arena. Against the backdrop of the application by Western countries of unprecedented economic sanctions against Russia and Belarus and certain unresolved problems between other SCO member states, opinions have emerged that all this would hinder the further development of the organisation. However, the implementation of the principle of “not targeting others (member states) and not introducing bilateral problems into the SCO agenda” has allowed for the organisation to develop sustainably under these difficult conditions.
Why did Belarus come to the SCO? The industrial production index of Belarus recovered after falling due to the introduction of sanctions and grew by 7.7% in 2023 (for comparison: Kazakhstan’s growth in 2023 was 4.3%, Kyrgyzstan grew 2.7% and Uzbekistan 3.7%). In the Global Innovation Index, Belarus (80th place) is ahead of SCO countries such as Kazakhstan (81st), Uzbekistan (82), Pakistan (88), Kyrgyzstan (106) and Tajikistan (111). According to the E-Government Index 2022, Belarus ranks 58th, which is higher than Uzbekistan (69), Kyrgyzstan (81), Iran (91), India (105), Tajikistan (129) and Pakistan (150).The level of human development has remained very high over the years (69th place according to UNDP Report 2023/2024).
For Belarus, membership in the SCO is recognition of the Belarusian state as an active and important participant in cooperation and security in the Eurasian region, which not only meets the requirements of the organisation, but is also distinguished by its intention to comprehensively promote the SCO agenda. The processes of connecting various organisations (SCO, CIS, EAEU) and projects (EAEU and the Chinese Belt and Road initiative) in the Eurasian space would in one way or another affect the interests of Belarus, and now it, as a full member of these organisations, can be at the forefront of these processes.
The Valdai Discussion Club was established in 2004. It is named after Lake Valdai, which is located close to Veliky Novgorod, where the Club’s first meeting took place.
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