About – Shanghai Cooperation Treaty
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a Eurasian economic, political, and security organization that is an intergovernmental association. In terms of territory, it covers roughly 60% of Eurasia and has a population of 40% of the global population. The SCO earns more than 30% of the world’s gross domestic product. China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan formed the Shanghai Five in 1996, which became the successor to the SCO. The leaders of these countries and Uzbekistan met in Shanghai on June 15, 2001, to announce a new organization with enhanced economic and political cooperation. July 7, 2002, was the date on which the SCO Charter was signed, and September 19, 2003, was the date it became effective. Shanghai Five has been succeeded by the SCO.
During its first meeting in Astana on June 8 and 9, 2017, the Council of Heads of States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization accorded member status to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and India. The SCO currently has eight members and six dialogue partners: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Turkey. As of 2021, Iran has been accepted as a full member of the SCO, and Egypt, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia have been made dialogue partners. Since 2001, the SCO has mostly focused on regional security, ethnic secession, and religious extremism. SCO’s highest decision-making body is its Council of Heads of State. An SCO summit is held in the capital city of each member state every year, during which the council meets. Since the primary responsibilities of prime ministers of parliamentary democracies are similar to those of presidents, they attend SCO summits just like their counterparts from other SCO nations.
INDIA and SCO
Indian representatives participated in all SCO forums that were open to Observers following the Astana Summit in July 2005. The Indian application for full membership was submitted to Tajikistan before the SCO Summit in Dushanbe in September 2014. In July 2015, the SCO Summit in Ufa (Russia) marked the beginning of the application process for India’s full membership. India has been further activated as a full member of the SCO since June 9, 2017, with the creation of the SCO Division within the Ministry of External Affairs. The SCO has been represented at several meetings regularly.
Between August 22 and August 29, 2018, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) conducted an anti-terror exercise in Chebarkul, Russia. The exercise was conducted within a global counterterrorism or counterinsurgency framework, by the SCO Charter. In June 2017, India became a full member of the SCO and participated in its military exercises for the first time. It takes place every two years and can be participated in by the member nations of SCO. During the Summit of Heads of State in Qingdao, China, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi led the official delegation. Among the 22 final documents signed were the Joint Communique and Appeal to Youth Against Radicalization.
Several documents included information about environmental protection, preventing epidemics, combating drug abuse, small and medium-sized businesses, customs, and tourism. The SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group Protocol and Plan of Action for the Long-term Good Neighborliness, Friendship, and Cooperation Treaty for 2018 to 2022 were also signed to strengthen the ties between these nations.
India hosted the nineteenth Meeting of Ministers responsible for Foreign Economic and Foreign Trade Activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) via videoconference on October 28, 2020. The meeting was presided over by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry. It was approved by the Heads of Delegations that the Draft Action Plan for Implementing the Program for 2021-2025 be drafted. SCO materials on multilateral trade and economic cooperation and other results.
During its 2020 chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of Government, India has proposed numerous additional specific measures, focusing in particular on startups and innovation, science, and technology, as well as traditional medicine. A new Special Working Group will be formed on Startups and Innovation and two new Expert Working Groups on Cooperation in Traditional Medicine will be formed by India. Recently, key officials from the Indian side, viz. A secretary or deputy secretary at other meetings of the SCO, such as meetings taking place in May and June 2022 were meetings of the environment, health, and energy ministers.
INDIA at 2022 SCO Summit
India has surpassed Britain to become the fifth largest economy in the world, as a result of multipolarity, Narendra Modi claims that India’s perception of the global situation reflects the situation in Asia. Despite having the fastest economic growth, Asia is also one of the least integrated regions. With the Shanghai Cooperation Treaty recommencing talks after COVID-19 in Samarkhand, Uzbekistan for its 22nd Council Meeting of SCO on 16th September 2022, and all the members facing the wrath of the economic crisis of Russia–Ukraine war, to complement established institutions like the United Nations, India engages in a fresh, adaptable multilateralism within a multipolar system. The SCO and ASEAN have ad-hoc cooperative agreements with one another. Another goal of the project was to establish a regional agenda on positive themes important to India, such as food security, connectivity, and innovation, to regain its leadership position.
During his remarks at the SCO summit, Modi urged the group to be flexible and “develop reliable, resilient, and diversified supply chains,” which “will require better connectivity” as well as giving each other full transit rights. As well as COVID-19, he discussed an “unprecedented energy and food crisis” which was triggered by supply chain disruptions due to the Ukraine conflict. The United States, Japan, Australia, and France are becoming increasingly frustrated with India’s efforts to maintain strong ties with Russia. The SCO’s mission is coming under increased scrutiny due to significant internal conflicts and suspicions. It is unclear how the relationship with Beijing will shake out in the future despite China being Russia’s closest strategic partner.
Advancements to be watched
In September 2020, India walked out of the SCO meeting of national security advisers, saying Pakistan had used a “fictitious” map of its territory, including Indian states. In 2019, when India divided the region it administers into two federally-administered territories and removed special autonomy from the region, which is also claimed by Pakistan, relations had already reached a new low. Many stakeholders saw the SCO as a way to counteract the power of Western alliances like NATO.
India will succeed Uzbekistan as the SCO’s Chair a year after the summit. One of India’s actions in a year full of diplomatic activity will be hosting the SCO summit the following year. From this December, India will also hold the G20 and UNSC Presidency for one year and one month, respectively. The city of Varanasi has been nominated as the first-ever SCO Tourism and Cultural Capital for the period 2022-2023.
The regulations for the nomination of the SCO Tourism and Cultural Capital were adopted at the Dushanbe SCO Summit in 2021 to promote cooperation between the SCO Member States in the field of culture and tourism, especially in Central Asian Republics. The rules for nomination of the SCO Tourism and Cultural Capital have been followed at the Dushanbe SCO Summit in 2021 to expand cooperation among the SCO Member States within the area of tradition and tourism in particular Central Asian Republics.
Written by Aathira Pillai
Edited by Tanisha Shah