A new SCO Center for Combating Transnational Organized Crime will begin operating in Bishkek, becoming the first permanent structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Kyrgyzstan.

The decision was approved following a meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State, with the organization’s leaders adopting regulations for the new Universal Center for Countering Security Challenges and Threats, according to Economist.

The center will operate on the basis of the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS).

The Bishkek-based center will coordinate cooperation among law enforcement agencies of SCO member states.

Its key responsibilities will include organizing joint operations and exercises, exchanging operational intelligence, assisting to locate members of criminal groups, disrupting channels used to launder criminal proceeds and training specialized personnel.

The new structure is designed to strengthen coordinated action against transnational organized crime, which increasingly operates across national borders.

Kyrgyzstan has already prepared a building and the necessary infrastructure to accommodate the center.

President Sadyr Japarov said the Kyrgyz side is ready to ensure the facility’s full operation, reinforcing Bishkek’s role in the SCO’s regional security architecture.