SCO Summit, S Jaishankar Pakistan Visit: The heads of government meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was attended by India, Pakistan, China, Russia and six other member countries on Wednesday (October 17). External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar travelled to Islamabad for the meeting, the first such visit in nine years.
The meeting saw some cautious movement on India-Pakistan ties, while India remained the only SCO member to not endorse China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Jaishankar also flagged India’s concerns about China and Pakistan in veiled references.
The SCO’s member countries are India, China, Pakistan, Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus.
Here are the key takeaways from the meeting:
Cricket back on table for India and Pakistan?
Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Muhammad Ishaq Dar, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, spoke twice in less than 24 hours, and there were indications that these talks explored the idea of resuming some form of cricketing ties between the two countries. Sources underlined that these conversations are preliminary, but the talks open a window and a possible first step could be the Champions Trophy being hosted by Pakistan next February.
Jaishankar message to Pakistan, China
In his address, Jaishankar listed the key challenges that the SCO was committed to combating — terrorism, separatism and extremism.
“If we fast-forward from the inception of the [SCO’s] Charter to the situation today, these goals and these tasks are even more crucial… If trust is lacking or cooperation inadequate, if friendship has fallen short and good neighbourliness is missing somewhere, there are surely reasons to introspect and causes to address,” he said.
The SCO Charter lists among its “main goals and tasks” the strengthening of “mutual trust, friendship and good neighborliness between the member States” and also “combating terrorism, separatism and extremism”.
In a reference to Pakistan, Jaishankar said, “If activities across borders are characterised by terrorism, extremism and separatism, they are hardly likely to encourage trade, energy flows, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges in parallel.”
In what is being seen as a reference to China and its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), he said, “Cooperation must be based on mutual respect and sovereign equality. It should recognise territorial integrity and sovereignty. It must be built on genuine partnerships, not unilateral agendas. It cannot progress if we cherry-pick global practices, especially of trade and transit.”
The Belt and Road Initiative
China’s President Xi Jinping announced the ‘Belt’ during his visits to Kazakhstan in 2013. The ‘Belt’ plan was to revitalise a series of trading and infrastructure routes between Asia and Europe. Connectivity through Central Asia was a key element of the initiative. Subsequently, Xi announced a sea trade infrastructure called ‘Road’. This maritime ‘Road’ would connect China with Southeast Asia, Europe and Africa. The major focus has been to build ports, bridges, industry corridors and other infrastructure throughout South East Asia and the Indian Ocean.
India has always opposed the BRI on grounds of territorial integrity and sovereignty, as it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. New Delhi has also highlighted that countries in which BRI projects are built risk falling into China’s debt trap.
Pakistan, meanwhile, is an enthusiastic supporter of BRI, as the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a key part of BRI, envisages significant infrastructure development in the country.
At the current meeting, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the project should not be looked at through “a narrow political prism”. “Let us not look at such projects through the narrow political prism, and invest in our collective connectivity capacities which are crucial to advancing the shared vision of an economically integrated region,” he said.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, without naming BRI, said, “We should continue to draw impetus from openness and cooperation, boost the region’s trade and investment facilitation and connectivity, and maintain stable and smooth industrial and supply chains.”
Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported that a joint communique at the end of the SCO meeting, “while reaffirming support for the People’s Republic of China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative noted ongoing work on joint implementation of the project…”
India did not endorse this communique.
Sanctions, trade protectionism raised
The SCO meeting saw criticism of “unilateral sanctions” that Western nations have imposed on members like Russia and Iran.
“The heads of delegations emphasised that the unilateral application of sanctions is incompatible with the principles of international law and has a negative impact on third countries and international economic relations,” the communique said, according to Dawn.
Sanctions on Iran and China affect the capabilities of smaller, needier nations to trade with them, as they fear a backlash from the US and other western countries. Pakistan is a prime example.
China criticised the high tariffs countries like the US and Canada have imposed on its goods, though it has responded with retaliatory tariff hikes of its own.
The meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government concluded in Islamabad on Wednesday. (@DrSJaishankar/X) 
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