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UPSC Issue at a Glance is an initiative by UPSC Essentials aimed at streamlining your UPSC Current Affairs preparation for the prelims and mains examinations by focusing on issues making headlines. This week, we provide an overview of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit (SCO) 2025 from a broader perspective. Let’s get started.
In a global order that has been shaped by war and tariffs, the 25th Heads of State Council meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) took place at Tianjin, China. At the summit, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping indicated towards the idea of multilateralism and multipolar world. In the backdrop of US tariffs on India over Russian oil imports and a trade deal that has hit roadblocks, knowing about the SCO and key highlights of SCO summit 2025 holds significance.
(Relevance: UPSC Syllabus Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Regional groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests, and important international institutions.
Previously, a significant number of questions have been asked on the bilateral, regional, and global groupings and agreements that involve India or affect India’s interests. Questions like “India’s role in mitigating SCO problems” highlight the growing importance of these groupings in the main examination. Therefore, groups and summits that have been in the news could potentially be topics for the main examination. However, the questions in this section have mainly focused on analyzing these groupings from India’s perspective. Thus, covering the SCO Summit 2025 becomes important. )
What will you learn from this article? |
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The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation. The main objectives of the SCO are to promote good relations among member countries, strengthen mutual confidence, make collective efforts to maintain peace, security, and stability in the region, and promote effective cooperation in various fields such as trade and economy, science and technology, culture, energy, transportation, tourism, environmental protection, etc.
The organisation also aims to move towards the establishment of a new, democratic, just, and rational political and economic international order. The member countries of SCO are China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, India, Iran, and Belarus. Belarus joined SCO as the 10th member last year.
The SCO originated from the “Shanghai Five” established in 1996, consisting of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. With the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 into 15 independent countries, there were concerns in the region about extremist religious groups and ethnic tensions coming to the fore. To manage these issues, a grouping was created for cooperation on security matters. It was a political association based on the Agreement on Confidence-Building in the Military Field in the Border Area and the Agreement on the Mutual Reduction of Armed Forces in the Border Area.
Building on this, SCO was established on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai as an international organisation and also included Uzbekistan as a sixth member. The SCO was initially focused on collaborating within Central Asia to address issues such as terrorism, separatism, and extremism.
The Charter of the SCO was signed at the St. Petersburg Summit in June 2002 and became effective on September 19, 2003. This charter outlines the organisation’s objectives, principles, structure, and primary areas of activity. Additionally, in 2006, the SCO announced plans to combat international drug trafficking as a means to finance global terrorism.
In September 2003, the heads of the SCO member states signed a 20-year Programme of Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation. The programme aims to establish a free trade zone within the territory of the SCO member countries by revitalising the process of creating a favourable environment for trade and investment.
India and Pakistan became full members of the organisation in 2017 at the meeting of the Heads of State Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Astana. In 2023, the status of a full member of the Organisation was granted to the Islamic Republic of Iran and in 2024 to Belarus.
The SCO’s highest decision-making body is the Heads of State Council (HSC). It meets once a year to make decisions and provide instructions on all important issues regarding SCO activity. A meeting of the HSC is chaired by the head of State organising the meeting.
Besides HSC, the Heads of Government Council (HGC) meets once a year to discuss a multilateral cooperation strategy and priority directions within the organisation’s framework, to address important cooperation issues in economic and other areas, and to approve the organisation’s annual budget.
The organisation has two permanent bodies: the Secretariat in Beijing, China and the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent. The SCO Secretary-General and RATS Executive Committee Director are appointed by the HSC for a period of three years.
| Do you Know? |
| The venue of a regular meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) is generally determined in the Russian alphabetic order of names of the SCO member states. Also, Russian and Chinese are the official working languages of the SCO. |
From the Tianjin Declaration to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Development Strategy until 2035, 24 documents were approved as a result of the meeting. Some of the key takeaways from Summit are:
1. Agreement on SCO Anti-Drug Center: Agreements were signed between SCO member states on the SCO Anti-Drug Center and on the Universal Center for Countering Challenges and Threats to the Security of SCO Member States.
2. SCO Joint Declaration condemns Pahalgam Terrorist Attack: SCO issued a joint declaration on September 1 that, among other things, strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22. The statement also condemned the Jaffer Express (March) and Khuzdar (May) terrorist attacks in Balochistan, Pakistan.
Notably, the explicit mention of the Pahalgam attack, in which 26 people lost their lives, is significant. Back in June, the incident had failed to find a place in the draft declaration of the SCO defence ministers’ meeting in Qingdao. The statement, however, did include a reference to the hijacking of the Jaffer Express. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had refused to sign the statement, reportedly due to the omission of the Pahalgam attack.
3. SCO Dialogue Partner Status to Lao People’s Democratic Republic: A decision was taken to grant the Lao People’s Democratic Republic the status of SCO Dialogue Partner and to grant SCO Observer status with the Commonwealth of Independent States.
4. City of Cholpon-Ata designated “Tourist and Cultural Capital of the SCO” for 2025–2026: In accordance with the Organization’s tradition, the city of Cholpon-Ata in Kyrgyzstan was designated the “Tourist and Cultural Capital of the SCO” for 2025–2026.
5. PM Modi Proposed Civilisation Dialogue Forum: PM Modi proposed the formation of a ‘Civilisation Dialogue Forum’ to enhance people-to-people ties in the SCO, stating that this would provide a global platform for the countries to share ancient civilisation, culture, traditions, and literature.
“To enhance people-to-people ties in the SCO, I propose the formation of a ‘Civilisation Dialogue Forum’. It will provide a global stage to share our ancient civilisation, culture, traditions, and literature,” he said.
6. Xi Jinping on proposed Global Governance Initiative: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday (September 1) proposed the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) at the SCO plus leaders’ summit as he advocated practising multilateralism.
Xi, while addressing the SCO leaders’ summit, said, “I wish to propose the Global Governance Initiative (GGI). I look forward to working with all countries for a more just and equitable global governance system and advancing toward a community with a shared future for humanity.” Xi pressed his vision for a new global security and economic order that prioritises the “Global South”.
7. SCO Chairmanship for 2025–2026 Passed to the Kyrgyz Republic: The SCO chairmanship for 2025–2026 has been passed to the Kyrgyz Republic. The head of Kyrgyzstan named the theme of the Kyrgyz chairmanship as “25 years of the SCO: together for a stable world, development, and prosperity”.
“ India’s delicate diplomatic manoeuvre to accelerate the normalisation of relations with China — under the shadow of a trade crisis with the US — should not be misinterpreted at home and misunderstood abroad as a rupture in India’s ties with America. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hour-long meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Tianjin on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit did not, and it could not have, overcome the structural challenges that have hobbled bilateral ties between the two Asian giants for seven decades. Nor do the current contretemps with the Trump Administration over Russian oil purchases imply a breakdown in the strategic partnership with the US that Delhi and Washington have painstakingly built over the last three decades.
It is unfortunate that the rhetoric surrounding India’s engagement with China — “partners not rivals”, Asian solidarity, Global South, strategic autonomy — continues to mask the persistent gap between Delhi’s aspiration for good relations with Beijing and the historic inability to achieve it. Similarly, the noisy public argumentation between Delhi and Washington often overshadows the reality of shared interests with America. In a persistent paradox, Delhi’s foreign policy elite has tended to overestimate the possibilities with China and underestimate those with the US.
India needs not only peaceful coexistence but also good neighbourly relations. But the effort to build such a relationship in the 1950s collapsed in the war of 1962. A renewed attempt in the late 1980s unravelled over the last decade. Military clashes in 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2020 exposed China’s growing assertiveness on the disputed border. A recurring annual trade deficit of around $100 billion underscores the massive imbalance in China’s favour.
The PM is right to seek a peaceful border, an early resolution of the boundary dispute, and a more balanced trade relationship. But these will take time. Meanwhile, Delhi made it clear in Modi’s statement to the SCO that India would not dilute its longstanding positions to placate Xi: It continues to oppose China’s Belt and Road Initiative, maintains reservations about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and rejects Beijing’s reluctance to confront Pakistan’s sponsorship of cross-border terrorism.”
SCO is one of the few international organisations which deals with security issues and primarily has Asian members. The SCO holds great significance for India and aligns with India’s two important objectives- counter-terrorism and connectivity.
PM Modi in his address to SCO 2025 also said, “Over the past 24 years, the SCO has played a vital role in connecting the extended family across the Eurasian region. As an active member, India has always contributed in a constructive and positive manner. India’s vision and policy towards the SCO are built on three key pillars: S — Security. C — Connectivity. O — Opportunity.”
1. Forum for Cooperation with Central Asian Countries: The membership of SCO allows India to participate in a forum which enhances its scope of cooperation with Central Asian countries, which have not had particularly close relations with India since their formation in 1991. It also matters to maintain communication with major regional actors on common security issues. Shubhajit Roy Writes, “SCO membership also bolsters India’s status as a major pan-Asian player, which is boxed in the South Asian paradigm.”
2. Countering Terrorism: Shubhajit Roy Writes- “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”. India wants access to intelligence and information from SCO’s counter-terrorism body, the Tashkent-based Regional Anti-Terror Structure (RATS). RATS provides access to non-Pakistan-centred counter-terrorism information there.”
3. Closer Indian-Russian Cooperation: SCO has provided Delhi with a forum to play up its proximity to Moscow. Russia supported India’s full membership in the SCO during the 2016 Tashkent Summit.
4. Balancing Chinese Dominance in the Region: The SCO provides India with opportunities for countering the dominance of China in the region. Nirupama Subramanian Writes— “Moscow sees India’s presence in the SCO as a potential countervailing force to Chinese dominance of Central Asia. It was Russia that began pushing for India’s membership of the group, around the time that China’s Xi Jinping launched his Belt and Road Initiative in Kazakhstan.”
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Belt and Road Initiative |
| China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative is a massive trade and infrastructure network that seeks to connect the country with the West in a model based on the ancient Silk Route. India does not support the BRI, and has declined to join the project. The major reason for this is that the BRI passes through Indian territory illegally held by Pakistan. |
In summary, India’s membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) contributes to its engagement in a multilateral global framework and facilitates greater interaction with Central Asian member countries, aligning with its Connect Central Asia Policy. At the same time, some observers have described the SCO as a “diplomatic battlefield,” reflecting the complexities within the organization. Why? Let us know your view in the comment section, or write to us at roshni.yadav@indianexpress.com.
Prelims
(1) Consider the following: (UPSC CSE 2022)
1. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
2. Missile Technology Control Regime
3. Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
India is a member of which of the above?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
(2) Consider the following countries:
1. India
2. Mongolia
3. Russia
4. Kyrgyzstan
5. Romania
How many of the countries given above are full-time member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)?
(a) Only two
(b) Only three
(c) Only four
(d) All five
(3) Consider the following statements:
1. India and Pakistan became full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in 2017.
2. Shanghai Five consisted of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
Which of the statements given above is/are not correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Mains
Critically examine the aims and objectives of SCO. What importance does it hold for India? (UPSC CSE 2021)
| Prelims Answer Key |
| 1. (d) 2. (b) 3. (d) |
(Sources: PM Modi’s address to SCO 2025: Security, Connectivity, Opportunity, , Explained: What SCO summit means for India’s global and regional interests, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet in Goa, Xi pushes for equal, multipolar global order as he slams Trump over tariffs, Key takeaways from PM Modi’s SCO Summit address)
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