SHANGHAI COOPERATION SUMMIT (SCO) 2018 (short note)

SCO summit

The 18^th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit was held Jun 9-10 in Qingdao, China. India’s participation in the summit has revived the debate over the usefulness of this membership for the country’s foreign policy, economic development, security goals and Sino-Indian relation. The question has been debated since 2009, when India and Pakistan attended the Yekaterinburg summit as observers, and India showed interest in joining the SCO.

 It was in June last year at the SCO summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, that India and Pakistan became full members of the china led grouping. Participating in the SCO as full members provides an opportunity for improving relations. The SCO charter is aimed at promoting peace and regional co-operation and all member states must abide by the Charter’s clauses. It is expected to bring about a positive change in the countries’ attitudes towards each other. This year’s summit was the first for India and Pakistan as full members and where Prime Minister Modi met Pakistan’s President Mamnoon Hussain.

In keeping out of China’s Belt and Road initiative and signing an agreement on sharing of hydrological data on the Brahmaputra and another on exporting rice following a bilateral meeting between Modi and Chinese president Xi Jinping, India kept its interest  safe in this SCO summit. India’s refusal to back China’s BRI is because of the Pakistani dimension- China-Pakistan economic Corridor (CPEC) – to the project.

SCO launched on June 15, 2001 and comprised Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It succeed the Shanghai Five mechanism, which was established to strengthen confidence-building measures and disarmament in the border regions of the member states and resolve border disputes among member countries. The ambit of their cooperation, however, was gradually extended to cover mutually beneficial cooperation in the political, security, diplomatic, trade and other areas.  

After Uzbekistan was admitted into the organization, it was renamed and a new character was drawn up. The presence of Russia and China in the SCO along with the central Asian states promises infinites opportunities for the peace and economic prosperity of the region. The decision to grant an observer status to Afghanistan and associate Turkey with the SCO has further strengthened the organization.