Yuriy Yakymenko, Razumkov Centre President

Vasyl Yurchyshyn, Razumkov Centre Economic Programmes Director

The 2025 SCO Summit was expectedly intended to demonstrate the deepening and strengthening of the ties among countries, quite aggressively declaring their intention to change the current world order, formed over the past decades mainly by developed democratic countries. It was also assumed that the participation of the largest number of countries in the summit in the SCO history would give the world a signal about the formation of a new political alliance led by the largest non-Western countries. Ultimately, the summit was to confirm China's ambitions of a global centre developing solutions alternative to those formed in Washington or Brussels.

Indeed, such a demonstration (really a demonstration, judging by photos released in mass media) did partially take place. However, one could not but notice the detachment of the “troika” of autocratic leaders who did not hide their common interest in the establishment of a new world order, as well as the predominantly gloomy expression on the face of the Prime Minister of “Asia’s largest democracy” (India), who was increasingly marginalised politically (even judging by his place during the official photo session).

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