![](https://www.nextias.com/ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/3111175Screenshot_6.png)
In News
- Recently the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)’s Foreign Ministers’ meeting was concluded at Tashkent in Uzbekistan.
Highlights of the event
- Expansion of SCO:
- India welcomed the expansion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to include Iran.
- 2021 SCO summit in Dushanbe agreed for Iran to join.
- Energy and food crisis:
- India also raised the problems of the energy crisis and food crisis arising from the “Ukraine conflict” which must be “urgently addressed”.
- The response required includes resilient and diversified supply chains as well as reformed multilateralism and zero tolerance towards terrorism.
- Assistance to Afghanistan:
- India highlighted its assistance to Afghanistan at the meeting.
- India’s humanitarian support included wheat, medicines, vaccines and clothing.
- Connectivity:
- India pushed for Chabahar port to be a conduit for trade to central Asia.
- Pakistan’s Foreign Minister promoted the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor for trans-regional trade.
Significance
- Iran’s membership:
- As a country that has been long sanctioned and isolated by the US-led West, Iran, by joining the SCO that accounts for 40 percent of the world’s population and 28 percent of global GDP, could expect a breakthrough in its geopolitical and economic status quo.
- Iran has also approached the SCO with a proposal to create a new single currency for carrying out trade among SCO members, in a push to counter the increasing weaponization of the US dollar-dominated global financial system.
- Rising influence of SCO & countering west:
- The significance of this round of expansion is that it shows the SCO’s rising international influence and that the principles of the SCO charter are being widely accepted.
- China and Russia are looking to frame the grouping as a counter to the West — particularly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
- Chabahar Port:
- With the increasing presence of China in Iran, India has been concerned about the strategic stakes of the Chabahar port project.
- The access to the Chabahar port may prove strategically important for India.
- Chinese closer ties with oil producers can bring governance and energy security issues for India.
- China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC):
- The CPEC is a collection of infrastructure projects that have been under construction throughout Pakistan beginning 2013.
- The CPEC is part of China’s larger Belt and Road Initiative.
- India has protested the project from its inception since it passes through large chunks of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO):
|
Significance of SCO for India
- India’s upcoming Presidency:
- India will take over the SCO Presidency in 2023.
- India will also host the upcoming SCO Summit in 2023, which will be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
- Varanasi – Cultural and Tourism Capital of SCO:
- The holy city of Varanasi, showcasing India’s culture and traditions over the ages, will be declared the first “Cultural and Tourism Capital” of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation for 2022-23.
- The new initiative will come into force after the Samarkand summit.
- It is a new initiative by the eight-member organisation to promote people-to-people contacts and tourism among the member states.
- The title of ‘Cultural and Tourism Capital’ will be rotated among the member states.
- Security:
- RATS can help India to improve its counterterrorism abilities by working toward intelligence sharing, law enforcement and developing best practices and technologies.
- Through the SCO, India can also work on anti-drug trafficking and small arms proliferation.
- Regional Integration:
- SCO can help in achieving regional integration and promote connectivity and stability across borders.
- Further, it also helps India to have a multilateral talk with friends like Russia and adversaries like China and Pakistan.
- Geopolitical Advantage:
- Central Asia is a part of India’s Extended Neighbourhood.
- And SCO provides India with an opportunity to pursue the “Connect Central Asian Policy”.
- It will also help India to check on the ever-growing influence of China in Eurasia.
Source: TH
Previous article
National Family Planning Summit 2022
Next article
American Bullfrog & Brown Tree Snake