1.     India is scheduled to host the two days meeting of Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on 29 Nov 20 in New Delhi. This will be the first Prime Minister level Meeting to be hosted by India since its elevation as a full-fledged member of SCO in 2017. Prior to India’s elevation as a full-fledged member of the SCO, India had been an Observer since 2005.

2.       The SCO is an intergovernmental organization founded in Shanghai on 15 June 2001 by six countries, People’s Republic of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Since then two more members have been added and today the SCO comprises of China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In addition, there are four Observer States who are interested in full membership of the SCO viz Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia. There are also six “Dialogue Partners” viz Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey.

3.       The main objectives of the SCO are

1. Strengthen relations among member states
2. Promote cooperation in political affairs, economics and trade, scientific-technical, cultural, and educational spheres as well as in energy, transportation, tourism, and environmental protection;
3. Safeguard regional peace, security, and stability; and
4. Create a democratic, equitable international political and economic order. With assistance from the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, SCO members have developed an intergovernmental agreement on facilitating international road transport.

4.       India’s chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of Government during 2020 culminating in the summit in India on November 30, gives us an opportunity to contribute in a substantive way on the trade and economic agenda of SCO. India has been actively pushing for connectivity projects like the International North-South Transport Corridor to gain access to resource-rich central Asian countries, and also for the renewed momentum in building regional synergies by the bloc by addressing common security challenges and building long-term economic and energy linkages.

5.In the run-up to the meeting, India has taken a number of initiatives in a wide range of areas. India hosted a Preparatory Seminar on Start-up Forum on 11 August and the first-ever meeting of Consortium of Economic Think-Tanks on 21-22 August. Both the events were attended by all the SCO Member States through Video Conferencing. India has also planned a number of events and meetings to be held before the CHG in November, which include Sub-group on Cooperation in Traditional Medicine, Preparatory Seminar on Traditional Medicine, two meetings of Senior Officials Commission on External Economy and Trade, first-ever SCO Start-up Forum, Special Working Group on Innovation and Start-ups, first-ever SCO Young Scientists Conclave, Exhibition on Shared Buddhist Heritage, etc. In addition, India will also be hosting two Ministerial-level meetings of SCO Member States. The Justice Ministers and the Trade Ministers are scheduled to meet before the Heads of Govt meet. Trade Ministers are expected to meet in last week of October where India will launch SCO start-up forum. All the member states have supported India’s initiatives in the run up to the Heads of Government meet in New Delhi. Therefore the meet presents an opportunity for India to showcase itself to the world at large.