The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will hold its first face-to-face summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in two years, shrugging off coronavirus fears and giving its eight heads of state a rare opportunity to meet during the event to discuss common concerns in face-to-face talks on pressing global and regional issues.

The last face-to-face SCO summit was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in 2019. Since then, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Moscow summit has been held, while the 2021 Dushanbe summit has been held in a hybrid model.

The SCO was established in Shanghai in June 2001 and currently has eight full members, 6 of whom are founding members from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan joined as full members in 2017.

SCO observer states include Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia, and dialogue partners include Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

It was the first two-day summit between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Xi Jinping caused a stir when he suddenly announced his participation in the SCO summit, allaying his coronavirus fears. On Wednesday, Xi Jinping flew out of China for the first time in more than two years. He made his first state visit to Kazakhstan in January 2020 before heading to neighbouring Uzbekistan for the Samarkand summit.

China has kept his plans secret and declined to confirm reports that Jinping will meet with Putin and Modi on the sidelines. China made a sudden move last week to agree to India’s demands to withdraw its troops from the disputed gas station 15 in Gogra and Hot Springs, which some say is a step towards ending a military standoff in eastern Ladakh in May 2020. There has been a sharp drop between the two countries.

After a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process last year on the south bank of Pangong Lake and in the Gogra area. The withdrawal from PP 15 has sparked speculation about the possibility of a Modi-Xi meeting in Samarkand.

The SCO summit in Samarkand will also mark the organisation’s second recent expansion, as Iran will formally join the influential Central Asian bloc after India and Pakistan were admitted as full members in 2017.

In addition to eight member states, four observer states and six dialogue partners, about ten countries have expressed interest in joining the political, economic and security organisation or increasing their status in the organisation, state media reported.

After completing the formalities, Iran will attend the next summit in India. According to SCO officials, Russia’s close ally Belarus has applied for full membership and is expected to join the organisation soon.

In addition to the eight SCO leaders, the heads of state of Iran, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Armenia embroiled in military conflict will also attend the Samarkand summit, a huge secret meeting, officials said. Before visiting Uzbekistan for the SCO summit, Jinping praised the organisation, saying it has set a good example in international relations.