Agreement among SCO member states on the establishment of an SCO Anti-Drug Center in Dushanbe
Background
The Agreement among SCO member states on the establishment of an SCO Anti-Drug Center in Dushanbe is a multilateral legal instrument that creates a permanent anti-narcotics coordination mechanism within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It applies to the SCO member states that participate in the arrangement and is intended to support joint work on drug control, information exchange, and operational coordination. In practical terms, it provides an institutional framework for collective action against illicit drug trafficking and related transnational threats.
According to the available record, the agreement was signed on 1 September 2025 by the member states of the SCO. Its issuance reflects the organization’s broader regional security agenda, in which countering narcotics trafficking has long been treated as part of the fight against organized crime and cross-border instability. The Dushanbe location places the center in Tajikistan, a state at the center of Central Asian transit routes, underscoring the geographic focus of the instrument. The agreement was designed to address the continuing challenge of illicit drug flows across the region and the need for a dedicated structure to coordinate responses.
The main practical effect of the agreement was to establish an SCO Anti-Drug Center in Dushanbe as a standing body rather than relying only on ad hoc cooperation. That change gives member states a shared platform for intelligence sharing, coordination of preventive measures, and support for joint anti-drug initiatives. It also marked an institutional step in the SCO’s security cooperation architecture by formalizing anti-narcotics collaboration in one centralized location. In this way, the agreement helped move regional drug-control efforts from general policy coordination toward a more defined operational arrangement.
Timeline
Russia highlighted the establishment of the SCO Anti-Drug Center in Dushanbe as a new regional anti-narcotics mechanism.
Press Release: Participation of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia D.E. Lubinsky in the UNODC-SCO Thematic Side Event at the 69th Session of the UN Commission on Narcotic DrugsRussia reaffirmed its commitment to international drug control in connection with the SCO Anti-Drug Center initiative.
Press Release: Participation of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia D.E. Lubinsky in the UNODC-SCO Thematic Side Event at the 69th Session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs
Documents
Press Release: Participation of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia D.E. Lubinsky in the UNODC-SCO Thematic Side Event at the 69th Session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Lubinsky represented Moscow at a UNODC-SCO anti-narcotics event, highlighting the new SCO Anti-Narcotics Center in Dushanbe and Russia's commitment to international drug control.