Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan – It was a round table of some of the most influential men in the world. Representing Russia, China, India, Iran, Pakistan – and when they extended to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Plus – Turkiye, as well as the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres. Gathered here in Kyrgyzstan were countries at the centre of some of the world’s biggest geopolitical tensions.
What brings them together is not necessarily agreement on everything. It is the space to pursue their interests outside a Western-led framework. Moscow sees that space as evidence of a changing world.
The organisation, he said, had grown from six founding members in 2001 into what he described as the world’s largest regional association. Kyrgyzstan is a small, mountainous, landlocked country with Russia to the north and China next door. The calculation is more immediate: how do you balance between giants?
As Europe and the United States are increasingly looking towards Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan needs to balance relations with all of them. Shairbek Dzhuraev, president of the Crossroads Central Asia think tank, said the timing of the summit is particularly important. That balancing act is not new.
Since independence in 1991, Central Asian states have largely operated through what is known as a multi-vector foreign policy. Bishkek – like other Central Asian nations – operates by keeping Russia close and building ties with China, while keeping open doors to Europe and maintaining healthy relations with Washington. For Kyrgyzstan, it is less about choosing sides than keeping options open, underscored by its geography.
Being landlocked means dependence on transport corridors and being mountainous makes infrastructure more difficult. Dependence on imported energy and external markets leaves the economy exposed to shocks beyond its borders. So diversification becomes more than an economic ambition.
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