"SCO member countries are at different stages of technological development, and this creates opportunities for complementary cooperation through shared research programs, student and researcher exchanges, and collaborative AI applications addressing common development challenges," Ahmed said.

　　"Looking 10 years ahead, I hope we will have moved beyond simply exchanging students and researchers toward actually building things together and solving real problems across different countries."

　　Broader goals

　　This hope for practical AI cooperation resonates with the broader strategic goals outlined by China.

　　At the 26th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, President Xi Jinping called on the organization to stay committed to putting development first and deepen, substantiate and upgrade regional cooperation.

　　The SCO should consolidate cooperation in traditional areas such as trade, investment and connectivity and expand cooperation in emerging areas such as AI, Xi said.

　　Last year at the SCO Plus Meeting held in Tianjin, China pledged to work with all parties to establish an AI application cooperation center and share the dividends of progress in the technology.

　　That pledge led to the creation of the China-SCO Countries Artificial Intelligence Application Cooperation Center, said Pan Jingyu, the center's director.

　　Since its establishment, the center has made major strides in international AI cooperation within the SCO framework. Pan highlighted multilateral efforts, including continuous coordination with the SCO Secretariat and engagement with more than 20 foreign embassies in China to build regular liaison channels.