Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)

Why in news?

• Iran and Belarus are likely to be the two newest members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) grouping.

About Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO):

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), or Shanghai Pact, is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation.
• Currently the SCO comprises of Eight member states:
  • India, Pakistan, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
• Four observer states, namely Afghanistan, Iran, Belarus, and Mongolia.
• Six dialogue partners, namely Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey, and Sri Lanka.
• India and Pakistan joined the SCO in 2017.
• In the 2021 SCO summit in Dushanbe, the members of SCO agreed to admit Iran as a member while Belarus has also begun the membership process.

Expansion of SCO:

• China and Russia are looking to frame the SCO as a counter to the West — particularly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• Moreover, China has also drawn a sharp contrast between SCO and NATO.
• It said that SCO is a cooperative organization based on non-alignment and not targeting a third party. On the other hand, NATO is based on Cold War thinking. The logic of NATO is to create new enemies to sustain its own existence.

Upcoming summits of SCO:

• The 2022 annual summit of the SCO will be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
• The 2023 SCO summit will be hosted by India..

PRACTICE QUESTION

Which of the following countries are members of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)?

1. India

2. Pakistan

3. China

4. Russia.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 3 and 4 only

(b) 1,3 and 4 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1,2,3 and 4

Answer