A new reality is taking hold in the Gulf region in the wake of agreements signed by China with Saudi Arabia, on the one hand, and Iran. Among other things, these initiatives have paved the way for a hoped-for breakthrough in the Yemen conflict.
Elsewhere around the world, Asia is witnessing a lot of political and economic developments, especially with regard to the economic bloc called the 'Shanghai Cooperation Organisation' (SCO) that was established in 2001 in the Chinese city of Shanghai. Members included Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan besides China. The organisation later received several requests to join, including from Turkey, India and Pakistan followed by Iran in 2021.
Recently, several Arab and Gulf countries submitted requests to join this organisation and have become "Dialogue Partners" even as a request from the United States was rejected from the outset.
SCO aims to become a political and economic bloc rivalling American and European economic groups currently dominating the global economy.
Today, countries belonging to the SCO are working to increase trade among them, raise the ceiling of the share of national currencies in trade exchanges and mutual settlements, and expanding their investment relations.
The organisation is seeking to expand its role and position on the regional and international arenas by leveraging its aggregate geographical mass, manpower and output. Since its establishment, it has also been working to promote mutual trust among members, combat terrorism, strengthen security, as well as cooperate in various political, commercial, economic, technical and other fields. Some of them have nuclear capabilities that help to develop the capacities of other countries in the humanitarian and economic fields. Some experts describe the organization as East Nato.
The presence of China and Russia in this organisation will lead to more cooperation, especially as China seeks, for its part, to attract a larger number of economically active countries to its membership, within the framework of its endeavour to consolidate a new global economic order. The accession of the Arab countries will open new opportunities to enhance economic and energy developments, in addition to working to reduce dependence on the American currency in commercial transactions, within the framework of prospects for converting the energy trade between Arab countries and China into the 'Chinese Yuan' currency, which helps to create an economic system of a multipolar world.
The Shanghai Organisation will constitute a shift in the face of the Western financial system that is managed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, whose policies are US leaning in the first place.
SCO is not a military alliance, but it works to develop mechanisms aimed at combating hostile activities and strengthen the frameworks of peace and cooperation in ensuring international information security among the member states.
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