India's confirmation came from the foreign ministry's lectern. Modi travels to Bishkek on August 31 and September 1, secretary Sibi George told a special briefing in New Delhi on Thursday, inside a 4-day trip that opens with a bilateral visit to Uzbekistan, his second. On Russia, George was specific: "A meeting is scheduled between both the leaders of India and Russia on the sidelines of the summit."
Pakistan's came the same day from foreign office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi: Sharif attends, and Islamabad takes the organisation's rotating chair home with it. "The hallmark of Pakistan's SCO chairmanship will be the SCO Summit to be held in Islamabad next year," Andrabi said, as the state broadcaster carried it.
The rest of the table was already set. Xi Jinping's window is August 30 to September 3, the summit plus state visits to Kyrgyzstan and Egypt, per foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian in Beijing on Wednesday. The Kremlin confirmed on August 20 that Putin's participation is planned. The figure of 21 heads of state belongs to the Kyrgyz president's press secretary, Askat Alagozov, and has stood since early July; the two capitals that confirmed on Thursday send heads of government, a reminder that the count is a protocol figure rather than a passenger list.
Bishkek, meanwhile, is closing. Manas airport restricts passenger traffic on Monday from 09:00 to 20:00 and on Tuesday from 10:00 to 22:00 for state aircraft; 10 malls and the city's bazaars shut for the two days; road restrictions run through September 6, stretching to the Issyk-Kul routes because the World Nomad Games open in the same window and move east after the ceremony.
“The hallmark of Pakistan's SCO chairmanship will be the SCO Summit to be held in Islamabad next year”
The signing floor is where the summit stops being protocol. Two documents are already queued on the Kyrgyz-Chinese track: a border-checkpoint administration agreement, drafted on August 14 and set for signature during Xi's state visit, and the fuel-supply package Bishkek discussed with a Xinjiang delegation on August 18, meant to simplify and speed Chinese deliveries, with the sides aiming to finish the paperwork before the summit. For a country that imported about 95% of its fuel from Russia until this summer and has since signed framework agreements with Sinopec and CNPC, the fuel paper is the one with a price on it.
Chairmanship is the quieter transfer. Pakistan holds the chair for the year, which routes the organisation's 2027 calendar through Islamabad and hands the agenda pen to a state that sits between India and China rather than above them. What to watch compresses into 5 days: the state-visit paperwork from Sunday, the declaration on Tuesday, and whether the fuel package lands with volumes attached or as another framework.