Eurasian dimensions of Belarus's membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
A t the summit held on 3-4 July 2024 in the Kazakh capital, Astana , the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) signed the " Astana Declaration , " formally approving Belarus's accession to the organisation as its tenth member state . Belarus's membership in this organisation holds a strategic geopolitical dimension, as the country borders three EU member states, as well as Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. This summit marked the inaugural meeting in the " SCO Plus " format, which includes 10 member states and 14 dialogue partner states. Dialogue partner status has been available since 2008. Guest participants at the summit included the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the United Nations, and Turkmenistan. The SCO is the successor of the Shanghai Five, established in 1996 by