About SCO

• Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation established in 2001.
• It’s a Eurasian political, economic and military organisation aiming to maintain peace, security and stability in the region.
• Prior to the creation of SCO in 2001, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan were members of the Shanghai Five. 
• Following the accession of Uzbekistan to the organisation in 2001, the Shanghai Five was renamed the SCO.
• There are eight member states in the SCO at present. India and Pakistan became members in 2017.
• The SCO Secretariat, based in Beijing, is the main permanent executive body of the SCO.
• The organisation has two permanent bodies —
  • the SCO Secretariat based in Beijing and
  • the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) based in Tashkent. RATS serves to promote cooperation of member states against the three evils of terrorism, separatism and extremism.

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.

Why in News?

• The Government of India is set to inaugurate the first B2B Global Conference & Expo on Traditional Medicine under Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at Guwahati.
• The Conference and Expo will provide an opportunity to regulators, industries and business leaders in all the SCO and partner countries to deliberate on various aspects of Traditional Medicine aspects such as products, services, education, skill development, cosmetics, Herbal extracts and further deepen the trade and friendship among each other in the area of Traditional medicine and allied field.

Reference:

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1903434