During the 21 years of its existence, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has successfully gone through the process of institutional building and formation of mechanisms of multilateral cooperation in priority areas. At the same time, the Organization   approaches the Samarkand summit with a clear demand for reform and improvement.

The 22nd summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will be held on September 15-16 this year in Samarkand, and will be the largest diplomatic event of the year in Uzbekistan and the Central Asian region. The heads of states and governments of all eight SCO members, three observer states, leaders of invited countries and 10 international organizations are expected to take part in the summit.