Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

• It is a permanent intergovernmental international organization, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai (China) by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan. It was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanism.
• Its Charter was signed during the St. Petersburg SCO Heads of State meeting in June 2002 and entered into force on 19 September 2003.
• SCO pursues its internal policy based on the principles of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, mutual consultations, respect for cultural diversity, and a desire for common development, while its external policy is conducted in accordance with the principles of non-alignment, non-targeting any third country, and openness.
• On the meeting held on 8-9 June 2017 in Astana, the status of a full member of the Organization was granted to the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

SCO’s Main Goals

• Strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness among the member states;
• Promoting their effective cooperation in politics, trade, the economy, research, technology, and culture, as well as in education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, and other areas;
• Making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security, and stability in the region;
• Moving towards the establishment of a democratic, fair, and rational new international political and economic order.

Organisation has two permanent bodies

• The SCO Secretariat is based in Beijing and the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) is based in Tashkent.
• The SCO Secretary-General and the Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO RATS are appointed by the Council of Heads of State for a term of three years.

Importance for India

• For India, two important objectives are counter-terrorism and connectivity. These sit well with the SCO’s main objective of working cooperatively against the “three evils” i.e. terrorism, separatism and extremism.
• India wants access to intelligence and information from SCO’s counter-terrorism body Regional AntiTerror Structure (RATS).
• A stable Afghanistan to is in India’s interest, and RATS provides access to non-Pakistan-centred counter-terrorism information there.
• Connectivity is important for India’s Connect Central Asia policy. Energy cooperation dominates its interest – and it’s in China’s neighbourhood. India’s cooperation with Central Asia is the geographic reality that it is separated from the region by a hostile Pakistan and unstable Afghanistan
• SCO membership also bolsters India’s status as a major pan-Asian player, which is boxed in the South Asian paradigm.

In News:

The government approved the signing and ratification of an Agreement on ‘Cooperation in the field of Mass Media’ between all the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). It will provide an opportunity for the Member States to share new innovations and best practices in the field of Mass Media.