SCO countries’ share in EAEU’s foreign trade hits 50%

The share of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states in the foreign trade of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) has reached 50%. This was noted during a meeting between Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Bakytzhan Sagintayev and SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev on the sidelines of the Regional Environmental Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, the EEC press service told BelTA.

The parties exchanged views on pressing issues of the international agenda and discussed in detail the current state and prospects of cooperation between the EEC and the SCO Secretariat. Bakytzhan Sagintayev stressed that for the EAEU countries, cooperation with the SCO is one of the key priorities. “The high level of our interaction is reflected in the numbers. Over the past ten years, trade between the EAEU and SCO countries has quadrupled. At the end of 2025, this figure reached $368 billion. The share of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the foreign trade has reached 50%,” Bakytzhan Sagintayev noted.

Currently, the parties are working on drafting a new plan of joint activities to implement the memorandum of understanding between the EEC and the SCO Secretariat. The document will define the objectives of systemic cooperation in areas of mutual interest. “The signing of the plan of joint activities will mark a transition to a qualitatively new level of partnership. We will be able to get down to the practical implementation of concrete initiatives,” the chairman of the EEC Board said.

The parties also considered the possibility of holding EAEU Days at the SCO Secretariat. This event could become an effective tool for promoting the economic agenda of the “Eurasian Five” and establishing direct business dialogue.

Bakytzhan Sagintayev and Nurlan Yermekbayev agreed that further coordination of efforts between the EAEU and the SCO will be an important factor in strengthening mutual trust and economic growth of the member states of both organizations.