 "What is Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)")
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic and military organisation. Having begun as the Shanghai Five in 1996 by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, it was rechristened as the SCO in 2001. The SCO entered into force on 19 September 2003.
The aim of SCO is to establish cooperation between member nations on:
- Security-related concerns
- Resolving border issues
- Military cooperation
- Intelligence sharing
- Countering terrorism
- Countering American influence in Central Asia
Members of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
Apart from the founding members, Uzbekistan joined the group later as a permanent member. India and Pakistan are the newest inclusion to the Organisation and it added another 1.45 billion people in the SCO making the group cover around 40 per cent of the global population. Both these nations signed the memoranda for becoming a permanent member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in 2016.
The eight permanent members of the SCO are:
- China
- Kazakhstan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Russia
- Tajikistan
- Uzbekistan
- India
- Pakistan
The Heads of State Council (HSC) is the supreme decision-making body in the SCO
The current Council of Heads of State consists of:
- Ram Nath Kovind (India)
- Vladimir Putin (Russia)
- Xi Jinping (China)
- Shavkat Mirziyoyev (Uzbekistan)
- Arif Alvi (Pakistan)
- Sooronbai Jeenbekov (Kyrgyzstan)
- Emomali Rahmon (Tajikistan)
- Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (Kazakhstan)
SCO summits
Members of the SCO meet once a year and adopt decisions and guidelines on all important matters of the organisation.
Why India's membership to SCO matters?
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is seen as an eastern counter-balance to NATO. With India being its member, it will allow the country to push effective action in combating terrorism and on issues related to security.
With the presence of India and China, the world's most populous countries, SCO is now the organisation that has the largest population coverage.
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