Laos Officially Joins SCO as Dialogue Partner in Beijing Ceremony
Laos was formally granted dialogue partner status within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Friday, as a signing ceremony for the memorandum was held at the SCO Secretariat in Beijing. The move marks a significant expansion of the Eurasian security bloc’s footprint into Southeast Asia and brings the SCO family to 27 members.
Background and Decision
The decision to admit Laos was originally made at the 25th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO, held in Tianjin, China, on September 1, 2025. According to CCTV News, the heads of SCO member states unanimously agreed at that summit to accept Laos as a dialogue partner. Friday’s ceremony formalized that decision with the signing of the official memorandum.
SCO’s Expanding Membership
With Laos’s admission, the SCO now comprises 10 full member states, two observer states, and 15 dialogue partners. The full member states are China, Russia, Belarus, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and India. Afghanistan and Mongolia hold observer status. The 15 dialogue partners, as reported by Lianhe Zaobao, include Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkey.
The Tianjin Summit also approved a significant structural reform, merging the categories of observer states and dialogue partners into a unified “SCO Partner” category, expanding the SCO’s extended family to 27 members.
China’s Support and Diplomatic Engagement
China played a key role in supporting Laos’s accession. During a meeting with Lao Foreign Minister Thongsavanh Phomvihane in August 2025, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that “China welcomes Laos’ joining the SCO family and looks forward to Laos contributing to the development of the SCO,” as reported by Xinhua News Agency. Thongsavanh thanked China for its support and expressed that Laos “is willing to maintain close communication and coordination with China to jointly safeguard international fairness and justice.”
On the sidelines of the Tianjin summit, SCO Secretary General Nurlan Yermekbayev met with the Lao foreign minister and expressed “confidence in Vientiane’s active involvement in promoting the Organization’s multifaceted agenda,” according to the SCO’s official website.
Strategic Significance for Laos and the Region
Laos’s entry as a dialogue partner carries substantial geopolitical weight. The Lao News Agency noted that Laos’ membership “not only strengthens its cooperation with Eurasian countries but also creates deeper mutual understanding between Laos and SCO members,” as cited by Global Times. It is expected to contribute significantly to Laos’ social and economic development while highlighting the SCO’s character as a cooperation mechanism that is “open and inclusive, but not exclusive; comprehensive, but not closed.”
As a landlocked country in the heart of the Mekong sub-region, Laos serves as a strategic bridge between China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The China-Laos railway, which began operations in December 2021, has become a vital transportation link connecting Kunming in southern China to Vientiane, positioning Laos as a key transit hub for regional connectivity. This infrastructure advantage could facilitate deeper economic and transportation links between Laos and Central Asian SCO member states.
Broader Implications
Laos becomes the third ASEAN member state, after Cambodia and Myanmar, to join the SCO framework, signaling the organization’s growing influence in Southeast Asia — a region traditionally anchored by ASEAN-centered multilateral frameworks. The move reflects growing interest among Southeast Asian nations in engaging with the SCO as a complementary platform for security and economic cooperation.
For Laos, dialogue partner status provides an additional diplomatic platform that complements its ASEAN membership, particularly for cooperation with Eurasian powers on security and economic matters. The unified “SCO Partner” category created at the Tianjin Summit may also facilitate further expansion of the organization in the future.
What to Watch
Observers will be watching to see what specific areas of cooperation Laos pursues as an SCO dialogue partner, whether other ASEAN nations follow Laos’s path to SCO engagement, and how the China-Laos railway might facilitate SCO-related connectivity projects across the Eurasian landmass.