Afghanistan Caretaker Government Not Invited to SCO Summit

DID Press: Despite claims by Afghanistan’s caretaker government that it had received invitation to attend the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, Chinese officials confirmed that no representatives from the group will take part in the meeting.

China’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Liu Bin, announced on Saturday that the SCO heads of state summit will take place in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1, 2025.

According to Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the summit will host delegates from over 20 countries and at least 10 international organizations, including the UN Secretary-General and senior officials from regional countries.

“No representatives from Afghanistan’s caretaker government are on the official guest list,” Liu said.

Earlier, Afghanistan’s acting Ministry of Foreign Affairs had claimed that China had issued an invitation to attend the summit. However, Taliban representatives were also absent from the SCO foreign ministers’ meeting held in China on July 15, 2025.

Afghanistan currently holds observer status in the SCO. In contrast, official representatives from Mongolia, another observer member, have been invited to participate in the Tianjin summit.

SCO was founded in 2001 to promote political, security, and economic cooperation in the region. Its main members include China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, with Belarus joining as a full member in July 2024.