Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for Uzbekistan on Thursday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit to be held on September 15 and 16. The summit will be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan this year. The last time this conference was held was in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. SCO Summit is organized once every year.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi are expected to attend this summit, including PM Modi. In total, top leaders from 15 countries have been invited to attend this year's summit.
What is Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)?
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an intergovernmental organization. The organization focuses on issues of politics, economics, development, and the military. It was started in 1996 as the 'Shanghai Five' by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. The organization currently consists of eight member countries. The list of these countries includes four observer countries and six dialogue partner countries including India, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan.
In 2001 the name of the organization was changed to SCO. Its main objectives are to ensure regional security, resolve border issues, address terrorism and religious extremism, and enhance regional development.
What is the significance of the summit for India?
India's presence at this summit will be extremely important. India will assume its presidency at the end of the summit. India will chair the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) for a full year till September 2023.
The SCO is generally seen as the eastern equivalent of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). One of the objectives of the SCO is to counter US influence in Central Asia. Hence India has the second largest population in the world after China. The presence of both India and China gives the organization the largest population coverage.
India's participation in the summit may allow the Prime Minister to hold bilateral talks with world leaders on various security and cooperation issues.
What is the agenda of the summit?
The summit is likely to discuss the geopolitical crisis emanating from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Apart from this, the situation in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan will also be a matter of concern, as many of the participating countries of the SCO are neighbors of Afghanistan.
No official information has been given on the scheduled bilateral meetings between the Prime Ministers and other Heads of State. However, a meeting (if it happens) between Prime Minister Modi and Xi Jinping can be watched closely during the summit. The two countries have been face-to-face since May 2020 over a military incident along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. Based on several news reports, Prime Minister Modi is likely to meet Vladimir Putin and Ebrahim Raisi as well.
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