• Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar will travel to Pakistan to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation this month.

• Pakistan is hosting the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting on October 15-16.

• The last time an Indian External Affairs Minister travelled to Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj in 2015 for the Heart of Asia conference and bilateral talks.

What is the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation?

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is an inter-governmental organisation founded in Shanghai on June 15, 2001.

• It was founded by the presidents of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

• These countries, except for Uzbekistan, had been members of the Shanghai Five group, formed on April 26, 1996 with the signing of the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions.

• The SCO Charter was signed during the St Petersburg heads of state meeting in June 2002 and entered into force on September 19, 2003. This is the fundamental statutory document which outlines the organisation’s goals and principles, as well as its structure and core activities.

• The Heads of State Council (HSC) is the supreme decision-making body in the SCO. It meets once a year and adopts decisions and guidelines on all important matters of the organisation. 

• The SCO is an influential economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations.

Members of SCO

• The SCO currently comprises ten member states (China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus). 

• Afghanistan and Mongolia hold Observer Status.

• Iran became a permanent member in July 2023.

• There are 14 dialogue partners — Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Egypt, Cambodia, Qatar, Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Sri Lanka.

• India, Iran and Pakistan were admitted as observers at the 2005 summit. 

• On June 9, 2017, at the historic summit in Astana, India and Pakistan officially joined the SCO as full-fledged members.

• The SCO has two permanent bodies — the SCO Secretariat in Beijing and Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent. 

• The chairmanship of the SCO is by rotation for a year by the Member States.

The SCO’s main goals are:

• Strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness among the Member States.

• Promoting their effective cooperation in politics, trade, economy, research, technology, culture, education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection and other areas.

• Making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region.

• Moving towards the establishment of a democratic, fair and rational new international political and economic order.

What relevance does the SCO hold for India?

i) Enhanced Cooperation with Central Asian Countries: India was made an observer at the July 2005 Astana Summit and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping, which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region.

• India’s membership in the SCO provides a platform for engaging with Central Asian nations, fostering collaboration in areas where relations have been historically limited since their independence in 1991.

• This forum allows India to strengthen its ties and enhance its influence in a strategically significant region.

ii) Addressing Common Security Concerns: The SCO serves as a critical platform for maintaining communication and collaboration on pressing security issues in the region, allowing India to coordinate with other member states.

iii) Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS): A key component of the SCO is the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), which plays a vital role in counter-terrorism efforts.

• RATS aids member countries in organising counter-terrorism exercises, analyzing intelligence data, and sharing information on terrorist activities and drug trafficking.

iv) Challenges of Managing Partnerships: Despite the potential benefits, the SCO’s relevance is sometimes questioned due to the complexities of managing relationships among member states.

• India faces significant challenges, particularly concerning its tense relationships with China and Pakistan.

• For instance, during India’s presidency of the SCO last year, the summit was conducted virtually instead of in-person, highlighting ongoing diplomatic strains within the organisation.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)