External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has reached Astana, capital city of Kazakhstan to attend Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. This is the 24th meeting of the Council of Heads of State which is being held under the chairmanship of Kazakhstan on July 3 and July 4. Prime Minister Modi will be skipping the Summit and in place Dr S Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation.
Changing stance of India towards SCO
SCO is a prominent Eurasian group founded in 2001 consisting of nine member states with recently added member Iran. India has also extended its efforts to collaborate with Central Asian Republics which are also part of our ‘extended neighborhood policy’ via this grouping. It is a distinctive platform where states like India, China, Russia and Pakistan are part of.
Earlier this multilateral grouping used to provide the platform for cooperation among these states. As of now, we share strained relations with China and Pakistan with little efforts from the other side to cooperate. It has become the reason behind the changing stance of India towards SCO. Also the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Feb 2022), has brought universal condemnation and western sanctions against Russia. It also seems that India has somewhat adopted a cautious stance and reduced involvement after the SCO Summit held in Samarkand in 2022.
The official reason PM Modi has provided is that SCO Summit is clashing with the first session of India’s Parliament, which does not sound convincing. Although he will be skipping the meet nonetheless will address virtually.
The absence of PM Modi will probably disappoint the Central Asian Republics since many times the meetings have been cancelled with the PM. In 2022, the five Central Asian Republics were invited as the chief guests to attend the Republic Day Parade but it got cancelled due to COVID-19. In 2023, India had the chairmanship of SCO and made all the arrangements to host the physical Summit in India but at the last moment decided on organizing a virtual summit. In 2025, China is supposed to host the SCO Summit, because of the tensions in our relations, India will likely skip the next meet too.
Agenda of the SCO Summit 2024
The Summit will primarily focus on regional security and to combat terrorism in the region. Since the geopolitical landscape of the region has become complex, cooperation is needed to maintain stability and security. The Council of the heads of the State are expected to review the activities of the SCO of the past two decades and discuss the prospects of multilateral cooperation.
They will also discuss the recent developments in Afghanistan and the Russia-Ukraine war. Kazakhstan has proposed the establishment of a Joint Investment Fund which has received support from other member states. Leaders are supposed to discuss the strategies to boost economic cooperation and seamless trade cooperation among the members.
Another key agenda on the table is addressing the environmental challenges. States are focusing on fostering people-to-people ties to promote mutual understanding and cultural exchange. They have also prioritized digital connectivity which could boost economic efficiency. Summit aims to reinforce regional connectivity and energy cooperation.
Summit is also expected to expand the membership by inducting Belarus during the meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan. The expansion of the SCO will extend its global reach.
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