The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a regional grouping in Eurasia focused on security, economic and cultural cooperation. It was founded in June 2001 in Shanghai by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Its secretariat is in Beijing.
Members
India and Pakistan became full members in 2017. Iran joined in 2023 and Belarus in 2024. The SCO also has observer and dialogue partner countries.
Aims
- Strengthening mutual trust among members.
- Fighting terrorism, separatism and extremism, which the SCO calls the “three evils”.
- Cooperation in trade, energy, transport and culture.
RATS
The Regional Anti Terrorist Structure (RATS), based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, coordinates members’ work against terrorism and shares information.
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How it works
The Council of Heads of State is the top body and meets once a year. The chair rotates among members. India held the SCO presidency in 2023 and hosted the summit in virtual format.
India’s role
For India, the SCO is a platform to engage Central Asian countries, Russia and others on security and connectivity. India has used SCO meetings to raise concerns about cross border terrorism. India has not endorsed China’s Belt and Road Initiative in SCO statements, citing concerns about sovereignty.
How SCO differs from other groupings
Unlike the Quad, which brings together democracies of the Indo Pacific, the SCO includes China and Russia as its founding powers and focuses on the Eurasian landmass. Unlike NATO, it has no mutual defence clause. Members do hold joint anti terror exercises called Peace Mission.
Frequently asked questions
Is the SCO a military alliance?
No. It has security cooperation but no collective defence commitment.
Which languages does the SCO use?
Its official languages are Russian and Chinese.
Has India hosted an SCO summit?
India chaired the SCO in 2023 and hosted the summit in a virtual format in July 2023.
Bottom line
The SCO is a major Eurasian forum on security and cooperation. India uses it to build ties with Central Asia while protecting its core interests.
Source / स्रोत: Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Ministry of External Affairs
