BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 29. The upcoming
summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) could give
fresh impetus to transport cooperation involving Kyrgyzstan,
Temirlan Razbaev, chief expert at the Analytics and Coordination
Department of the National Institute for Strategic Initiatives
under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, told Trend.


According to him this includes the integration of the
China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway with the Middle Corridor via
the Caspian Sea and Azerbaijan. “The first promising area is
logistics. It would be advisable to link the
China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway with the Middle Corridor via
the Caspian Sea and Azerbaijan. According to official Azerbaijani
data, the capacity of the Alat Port is planned to be increased from
15 million to 25 million tons per year, while cargo volumes along
the Middle Corridor via Azerbaijan have increased by nearly 90%
since 2022. For Kyrgyzstan, the practical benefit will come not
from the route simply being mapped out, but from a regular
container service, a single electronic document and a competitive
end-to-end tariff,” he said.


The expert added that investment was another promising area. In
particular, in July 2026, the capital of the Azerbaijan-Kyrgyzstan
Development Fund was increased from $100 million to $200 million.
At the same time, three joint projects were opened and eight
initiatives were launched. “The next stage should involve moving
toward measurable production projects in agro-processing,
logistics, green energy and digital services. These are areas with
potential rather than sectors in which agreements have already been
finalized for specific projects,” he added.


At the same time, Razbaev said tourism and people-to-people ties
represented a third area of potential cooperation. “On July 31 this
year, the five-star Baku Resort & Spa complex, built by the
Azerbaijani side, opened in the village of Kara-Oy on Lake
Issyk-Kul. According to the official announcement, the complex
covers more than 17 hectares, includes 111 rooms and 10 cottages,
and can accommodate 330 guests. At the initial stage, it is
expected to provide employment for 255 people. This is a concrete
example of a project whose impact can be assessed in terms of the
facility itself, employment and the quality of its infrastructure.
Overall, the success of cooperation should be measured not by the
number of memorandums signed, but by cargo volumes, investment,
operational enterprises and jobs created,” the chief expert
said.


Razbaev also emphasized that Kyrgyzstan’s role in the SCO is
currently determined primarily by its ability to advance Central
Asian interests within the broader Eurasian organization. “The SCO
comprises 10 countries with a combined population of more than 3.4
billion people, accounting for about a quarter of global GDP and
more than 15% of international trade. By comparison, when
Kyrgyzstan held the SCO chairmanship in 2019, the organization had
eight members – Iran and Belarus joined later. Therefore, the
current chairmanship is taking place within a larger and more
complex organization.


Over 2025-2026, Bishkek has identified specific priorities,
including streamlining trade procedures, developing the digital
economy and transit potential, expanding renewable energy, and
improving security mechanisms. A practical indicator was the SCO
Investment and Business Forum held on June 24, 2026, which brought
together more than 600 participants. The Universal SCO Center
currently being established is also set to include a Center for
Combating Transnational Organized Crime in Bishkek.


It is therefore more accurate to say that over the past year,
the country has strengthened its role as a coordinator and
initiator of the Central Asian agenda. The final assessment will be
determined by the package of decisions adopted at the Bishkek
summit,” he concluded.


The SCO was established in 2001 and initially comprised China,
Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Over the
past 25 years, its membership has expanded to 10 countries. The
26th SCO summit will be held in Bishkek on August 31-September 1,
2026, under Kyrgyzstan’s chairmanship. The meeting will focus on
the organization’s further development, strengthening economic and
transport cooperation, and security cooperation. Following the
summit, the leaders are expected to consider a number of documents
related to the development of the SCO’s financial and economic
mechanisms, including initiatives to expand settlements in national
currencies and establish new cooperation institutions.