Jaishankar attends SCO meeting in Moscow

• The 24th meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was held in Moscow under the chairmanship of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on November 18.

• India was represented by Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar.

• Jaishankar said the SCO was founded to combat the three evils of terrorism, separatism and extremism. These threats have become even more serious in the years that have passed. He said it is imperative that the world display zero tolerance towards terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

• The participants discussed current trends in the global economy and further ways to strengthen the economic dimension of the SCO’s activities. 

• During the meeting, reports were heard from authorised representatives on the activities of the SCO Business Council and the SCO Interbank Consortium for 2024-2025.

• Following the meeting, the delegates adopted a joint communique and signed a number of decisions, including those concerning the implementation of the Program of Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation, the development of interaction in the field of railway transportation, and social development and social protection. 

• The Organisation’s budget for the next year was approved.

• An agreement was reached that the next meeting will be held in Tajikistan in 2026.

What is the SCO?

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is an intergovernmental 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 Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) meets once a year to discuss the strategy of multilateral cooperation and priority areas within the Organisation, determine fundamental and topical issues in economic and other spheres, and approve the budget of the SCO.

• There are also mechanisms for meetings on foreign affairs, national defence, security, economy and trade, culture, health, education, transport, emergency prevention and relief, science and technology, agriculture,  judiciary, tourism, industry, energy, poverty alleviation, sports, etc. 

• 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). 

• Other observer states interested in acceding to full membership are Afghanistan and Mongolia. 

• There are 15 dialogue partners — Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Egypt, Cambodia, Qatar, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, 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.

• In July 2023, Iran became a permanent member of the SCO at an India-hosted virtual summit of the grouping.

• 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:

i) Strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness among the Member States.

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

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

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

India and the SCO

• 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 and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017.

• India has shown keen interest in deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.