Leaders of the world’s largest regional organization in terms of geographical coverage and population are going to gather together on Thursday and Friday in Dushanbe, Tajikistan to decide on the global economy.

The SCO countries cover one-fourth of the earth’s lands and nearly half of the human population. In order to have an overall assessment of the organization’s effect in global economy, one should first see if the region has the required infrastructure in terms of economic capacity.

The organization was originally established in 1996 as “Shanghai 5” by Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and rebranded to Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2001 after Uzbekistan joined the entity.

The SCO approved membership of India and Pakistan in 2017 and gave observer status to Iran, Afghanistan, Mongolia and Belarus. The United States applied for observer status which was rejected in 2005.

Given the enormous extent of geographical coverage, amounting to 35 million square kilometers, and a population as high as 3.15 billion people, the organization has been known to be the greatest producer and the greatest consumer of energy at the same time in a global scale.

The main objectives of the SCO have been focused on trading, banking and cultural cooperation and the entity has avoided involvement in military and security issues, as its charter has highlighted the organization’s impartial and civil nature.

To see if the organization can successfully get through its pass forward, let’s take a look at economic capacity of some member states. Some members might appear to be small in size, but they are at the same time significant in geopolitical position and can play important role in the organization’s path.

China

Like it or not, China has gained the second place in world economy and the 10 percent economic growth during the last 30 years have provided the country with the opportunity to convince the world that the time when US and the West were the hegemonic powers in trade, finance and money has gone away.

China stunned the world with its gross domestic product of over 14 trillion dollars in 2019 and once again with 10 percent of economic growth in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic which left many giants struggling with shrinking economy.

Russia

Russia, an emerging economy, is another global-scale power to have a founding presence in the SCO that is aspiring to have a greater share in the global economy.

Russia is Europe’s fifth and world’s 11th economy with a bright future in world economy, not because of economic growth, but because of its rich natural resources which amounts to 30 percent of the whole global repository.

India

With a population of over 1.366 billion people, India enjoys a gigantic driving motor, making it already an effective player in global economy.

India’s GDP amounts to 611 trillion dollars and is the world’s fourth greatest economy. It has had an average economic growth of 8 percent during the last eight years, being recognized as an economic power in the international community.

Water and Agriculture

In addition to energy, the SCO region is considered as a hub of agriculture, with the world greatest water resources available in Central Asia, India, Russia and China and vast, fertile lands spanning across the region.

The great potential is available while the world is struggling with severe problems like climate change and the coronavirus pandemic, hitting the global economy and threatening food supplies.

In short, geopolitical, technological and industrial potentials beside ground routes have given the area a special status which would make it influential in the world economy if it mover in the right direction, modifying the US-centric economic system under the dollar dominion.