S.C.O.-SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANIZATION-एस.सी.ओ.-शंघाई सहयोग संगठन

What is SCO?

It is an ..intergovernmental organization formed by efforts of China, which was established in 1996 at Shanghai (Trade capital of China).

Official Lanhuages-

The official working languages of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation are… Chinese and Russian.

How SCO Works?

-The Council of Heads of State-

 is the…. top decision-making body in the SCO. This council meets at the SCO summits, which are held each year in one of the member states' capital cities.

-The Council of Heads of Government-

 is the ..second-highest council in the organisation. This council also holds ..annual summits, at which time members discuss issues of multilateral cooperation. The council also approves the.. organisation's budget.-

-The council of Foreign Ministers-

 also hold regular meetings, where they discuss the current international situation and the SCO's interaction with other international organizations.

The Secretariat of the SCO is the primary executive body of the organisation. It is located in ..Beijing.

Activities of SCO-

Cooperation on security-

The SCO is primarily centered on its member nations' Central Asian security-related concerns, often describing the main threats it confronts as being terrorism, separatism and extremism. However evidence is growing that its activities in the area of social development of its member states is increasing fast.

The organisation is also redefining cyberwarfare, saying that the dissemination of information "harmful to the spiritual, moral and cultural spheres of other states" should be considered a "security threat.

Military activities

Over the past few years, the organisation's activities have expanded to include increased military cooperation, intelligence sharing, and counterterrorism.

There have been a number of SCO joint military exercises. (e.g. known as "Peace Mission ).

Economic cooperation

A long-term objective to establish a free trade area in the SCO .

Cultural cooperation

Cultural cooperation also occurs in the SCO framework.

Objective of SCO :-

 Its main aim is to counter the unipolar world.

Members:-

9 Members are Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tazakisthan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan India and Pakistan.

Iran is the new member of the SCO, which was recently added to the permanent member countries in the 2022 .

Meetings:-

Its meetings are held every year.

 23^rd Summit SCO-2023

India has chaired the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) virtual Summit,

-During this 23^rd 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.

New Delhi Declaration:

To "counter the activities of terrorist, separatist and extremist groups, paying special attention to preventing the spread of religious intolerance, aggressive nationalism, ethnic and racial discrimination, xenophobia(a fear or hatred of foreign people) ."

New Pillars of Cooperation:

India has created five new pillars and focus area for cooperation in the SCO, which include,

• Startups and Innovation
• Traditional Medicine
• Youth Empowerment
• Digital Inclusion-All individuals and communities, have access to and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).
• Shared Buddhist Heritage

India's Reservations on BRI:

India refused to be part of the BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) of the SCO members’ economic strategy statement, mentioning “interested member states’.

India's opposition to the BRI stems from its inclusion of projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK), which India considers a violation of its sovereignty.

Why SCO is important for India?

1-Considering the vast.. gas resources, India can get better opportunity to fulfill its energy requirement. The SCO brings together some of the most important energy-producing and energy-consuming countries.

2- It is a security organisation that focuses on regional stability. Fighting.. terrorism, religious extremism and political separatism forms the core of the SCO's agenda. In this sphere, India has shared concerns with the SCO member countries.

3-The SCO supplements India's Look East policy/Act East of engaging the South-East Asian region. The SCO is also entering into institutional linkages with the ASEAN.

4- SCO is …not intrusive; it works on the basis of consensus; it respects national sovereignty. In fact, it attributes primacy to national sovereignty, firmly rejecting interventionism of any kind or pretext.

5- The SCO offers vast scope for …economic cooperation. It is gearing up for regional projects in infrastructure development, energy and communications. In the not-too-distant future, it is bound to develop a common market.

6- SCO is ….more rational than NATO as  it attends to ..political and economic matters. As for the military component, it is not properly a military, but an antiterrorist component.

Challenges for Shanghai Corporation Organization-

-Combating terrorism, extremism and separatism;; drug and weapons trafficking, illegal immigration, etc.

-The rich diversity in members’ history, backgrounds, language, national interests and forms of government, wealth and culture makes the SCO decision-making challenging.