About SCO:

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or the Shanghai Pact, is an economical-political military organisation founded in 2001 in Shanghai, China.
• China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan were the original 5 founding members of the organisation who found the Shanghai Five Group. The group was then renamed to Shanghai Cooperation Organisation with Uzbekistan joining the organisation in 2001.
• There are eight member states in the SCO at present, namely, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and India (both joined in 2017).
• There are about four observer states and six dialogue partners in the SCO at present:

1. Observer States: Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and
2. Dialogue Partners: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey.

Objectives of the SCO:

• To strengthen mutual trust among the neighbouring member states.
• To promote effective cooperation in various fields like economy, trade, politics, culture and research and technology.
• To ensure peace, prosperity, security and stability in the region, and
• To establish a democratic, fair and rational international eco-political order.

Organisational Structure of the SCO:

• The supreme decision-making body in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is the Heads of State Council.
• The second highest body of the SCO is the Heads of Government Council.
• The SCO secretariat, Beijing and the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), Tashkent are the two permanent bodies of the SCO.

Why in News?

The 20th Summit of SCO Council of Heads of State was held recently via Video Conference.The Meeting was chaired by the President of the Russian Federation Mr. Vladimir Putin. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the Indian delegation. 

Highlights of Indian Prime Minister’s address:

• Reformed multilateralism: India, as a non-permanent member of the UNSC, will focus on the theme of reformed multilateralism to bring about desirable changes in global governance.
• This is imperative to meet the expectation of a world suffering from the social and financial after-effects of the pandemic. 
• India’s firm belief in regional peace: This will promote security and prosperity and raising voice against terrorism, smuggling of illegal weapons, drugs and money-laundering. 
• Respect territorial integrity and sovereignty: In an indirect reference to the Chinese infrastructure projects in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, India urged members of the SCO to respect “territorial integrity” and “sovereignty”.
• Strong cultural and historical connect: India has strong links with the SCO region and has a firm commitment towards strengthening connectivity in the region with initiatives like International North-South Transport Corridor, Chabahar Port and Ashgabat Agreement.
• SCO Year of Culture: India also extended full support to observing the 20th anniversary of SCO in 2021 as the “SCO Year of Culture”.

Related Information

Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure

• The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) is a permanent organ of the SCO which serves to promote cooperation of member states against the three evils of terrorism, separatism and extremism. 
• It is headquartered in Tashkent. 
• The head of RATS is elected for a three-year term.

Reference:

1. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1671756