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Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
Context:
The SCO meeting in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana concluded with Belarus becoming the organisation’s 10th member.
Key Highlights of the Visit:
- Adopted the Astana Declaration and approved 25 strategic documents covering energy, security, trade, finance, and information security.
- SCO member states endorsed the Initiative On World Unity for a Just Peace, Harmony and Development.
- Members of the SCO also adopted the SCO Development Strategy until 2035.
- Cooperation programs to combat terrorism, separatism, and extremism for 2025-2027, the Anti-Drug Strategy for the next five years.
- Strategies for energy cooperation until 2030 and the Economic Development Strategy’s Action Plan until 2030 were also approved.
About SCO:
- The organisation was founded in 2001 in Shanghai.
- Initially, it consisted of six countries: Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. In 2017, India and Pakistan joined, followed by Iran in 2023 and now Belarus in 2024.
- Permanent secretariat in Beijing, China.
Significance of SCO:
- Cooperation on Security: SCO is one of the few international organisations which deal with security issues.
- Tackles human trafficking, weapons trafficking, and terrorism through the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS).
- Collaborates with the CSTO (Central Security Treaty Organisation) to improve security, combat crime, and address drug trafficking.
- Economic Cooperation: It prioritises joint energy projects, such as oil and gas exploration, water resource management, and funding initiatives through the SCO Interbank Consortium.
- Promoting regional integration: SCO will help integrate Central Asian countries with the neighbouring landmass.
India’s vision at SCO:
- India’s priorities in SCO are shaped by the Prime Minister’s vision of a ‘SECURE’ SCO. SECURE stands for Security, Economic cooperation, Connectivity, Unity, Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and Environmental protection.
Significance for India:
- Exercise of true multipolarity: Similar to Quad which is seen as a platform for regional balancing of China in the Indo pacific ,SCO represents India’s diplomacy in the Eurasian landmass.
- It acts as a platform of India-Russia collaboration to balance China’s rising influence in the Eurasian landmass (via the BRI project ).
- Managing Afghanistan: Since India is not part of platforms for managing security threats due to Taliban rule, SCO acts as an important platform for engaging with countries on common security threats coming from Taliban.
- Connectivity: The SCO prioritises connectivity and infrastructure development, aligning with India’s goals of enhancing connectivity with its neighbours and improving domestic infrastructure.
- Counter-terrorism: The SCO prioritises counter-terrorism and security cooperation, addressing India’s concerns over its conflict with Pakistan and regional terrorism threats.
Challenges for SCO:
- India – China strained relation :India opposes the BRI because the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), challenging India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and hindering collaboration between the two countries.
- India – Pak rivalry:Due to state sponsored terrorism from Pakistan
- Perception of being Anti- NATO platform:U.S. is wary of SCO’s potential to counterbalance Western influence and challenge U.S. interests in Asia and thus was not happy with India becoming its member.
- Russia-China competition in the Central Asian region:– With the central asian region seen as the traditional backyard of Russia ,Beijing’s outreach to the Central Asian 5(C5)via the China Plus C5 summit and BRI projects is seen as challenging Russia influence in the region.
Way forward:
- Increasing Bilateral trade between India and Central Asian countries/Russia :Presently the trade among SCO members is hugely tilted in favour of China and thus there is need for alternate trading partners
- Preferring national currencies in trade settlement can be a positive step in increasing trade.
- Promoting cultural exchange via Tourism can increase people-to-people contact and thus, closer cooperation between nations.
