JNN 2ND September 2026, Bishkek : De-dollarization formed a core economic pillar of the 2026 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek, where member states pushed to replace the U.S. dollar with national currencies in regional trade.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday pressed his vision for a new global security and economic order that prioritises the “Global South”, as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to initiate a structured process to resolve longstanding disputes in South Asia.
The 2026 summit, which marks the 25th anniversary of the SCO, brings together leaders from China, Russia, India, Iran, Pakistan, Belarus and the Central Asian member states. Turkey is also participating as a dialogue partner. The organization has expanded significantly since its establishment, with the combined GDP of its members rising from about $1.67 trillion in 2001 to approximately $25 trillion in 2025, according to figures cited in the accompanying reports.
Putin, whose country has forged even closer economic and security ties with China amid the fallout from the Ukraine war, said the SCO had revived “genuine multilateralism”, with national currencies increasingly used in mutual settlements.
“This, in turn, lays the political and socio-economic groundwork for the formation of a new system of stability and security in Eurasia,” Putin said.
Xi also called for the creation of a new SCO development bank, in what would be a major step towards the bloc’s long-held aspiration of developing an alternative payment system that circumvents the US dollar and the power of its sanctions.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also proposed , the establishment of a Shanghai Development Bank, with its capital structure based on the national currencies of member states and supported by independent systems for trade and financial settlement, and bypass Western-dominated payment systems.
The bloc has established a structural roadmap to scale up settlements in local currencies (such as the Chinese yuan, Russian ruble, and Indian rupee). Notably, Russia and China have already converted over 92% of their bilateral trade into national currencies
Backed heavily by Iran and China, the SCO is pursuing the “SCO Special Accounts and Settlements” initiative. This includes creating interconnected Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), digital trading platforms, and shared messaging systems to bypass the Western-controlled SWIFT network.
Highlighting Pakistan’s support for multilateralism, the prime minister said the SCO remained a platform that best represents Pakistan’s abiding commitment to regional cooperation and integration.
The prime minister shehbaz shariff also strongly condemned Israel’s unjustified aggression against Iran, a fellow SCO member, and called for an immediate end to the bloodshed in Gaza. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for the two-state solution with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as the capital of Palestine.
Pezeshkian also held talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, with both meetings focusing on strengthening bilateral cooperation and making greater use of existing economic and political capacities.
The premier shehbaz shariff also held informal meetings with the presidents of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Belarus.
SCO nations are leveraging their status as major energy producers (Russia, Iran) and consumers (China, India) to establish an SCO Energy Consortium, aiming to price and trade oil, gas, and minerals outside the “petrodollar” ecosystem.