23RD SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANISATION (SCO) SUMMIT

Why in News:

Recently, India has chaired the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) virtual Summit, leaders called for the formation of a “more representative” and multipolar world order in the global interest.

Important Points:

During the 23rd Summit, Iran officially joined the SCO as the Ninth Member Country.

The theme of India's chairpersonship of SCO is 'Towards a SECURE SCO’, which is derived from the acronym coined by the Indian PM at the 2018 SCO Qingadao Summit.

It stands for: S: Security, E: Economic development, C: Connectivity, U: Unity, R: Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, E: Environmental protection.

India, who hosted the summit for the first time, refused to join other members on paragraphs relating to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the joint statement, and stayed out of a joint statement on SCO Economic Development Strategy 2030, indicating a lack of consensus in the grouping.

India also took sharp aim at Pakistan for cross-border terrorism, and at China for connectivity projects that do not respect sovereign boundaries.

The SCO grouping now comprises China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

New Delhi Declaration:

The agreements signed include the New Delhi Declaration, outlining areas of cooperation between SCO countries; a joint statement on countering radicalisation; and one on digital transformation, where India offered to share expertise on digital payment interfaces such as UPI.

In a reference to sanctions on Russia and Iran by the U.S. and European countries, SCO members jointly criticised non-UN sanctions as “incompatible with the principles of international law”, which have a “negative impact” on other countries.  SCO members also agreed to explore the use of “national currencies” for payments within the grouping, which would circumvent international dollar-based payments.

However, the declaration noted that only “interested member states” signed the economic strategy statement, while leaving India out of the paragraphs supporting China’s BRI.

India opposes the BRI over its inclusion of projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

New world order

The Delhi Declaration listed a number of global challenges, including new and emerging conflicts, turbulence in the markets, supply chain instability, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

SCO member States confirm their commitment to formation of a more representative, democratic, just and multipolar world order based on the universally recognized principles of international law, multilateralism, equal, joint, indivisible, comprehensive and sustainable security, cultural and civilizational diversity, mutually beneficial and equal cooperation of states with a central coordinating role of the UN.

About SCO

SCO is a permanent intergovernmental international organization.

It’s a political, economic and military organization aiming to maintain peace, security and stability in the region.