EDITORIAL:
As India takes the helm of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) for 2023, it has set out an ambitious agenda for the year ahead. The SCO is an influential regional body in Eurasia, with its membership comprising more than 40 per cent of the world’s population and almost a quarter of the global GDP, including China, Russia, India, Pakistan and the Central Asian Republics.
While the organisation has traditionally focused on security issues, the SCO is increasingly prioritising tangible economic initiatives. At the Samarkand meeting of SCO heads of states last September, leaders agreed to create efficient economic and transport corridors, work jointly on climate change, food security, energy security and reliable supply chains, and accelerate the pace of informatisation and digitisation.
India’s chosen theme for its chairmanship, ‘For a SECURE SCO’, reflects these priorities. The acronym stands for security, economic connectivity, unity, and respect for the environment. India has planned a series of meetings, including a forthcoming defence ministerial in New Delhi and the meeting of foreign ministers in Goa.
The SCO states have committed themselves to building a “new type of international relations” based on mutual respect, justice, equality, and mutual benefit. They have ruled out ideologised and confrontational approaches. This approach is appealing to other countries in the region, with Iran set to join the SCO this year and Turkiye serving as a dialogue partner. Many other states also participate as special guests.
India’s assumption of the SCO chair comes at a time of significant global challenges. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on economies and societies around the world. There are also growing concerns about the impact of climate change, as well as rising tensions in several regions, including the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
The SCO’s focus on economic cooperation and mutual respect could offer a way forward for the region. By working together on shared challenges, the SCO states can promote stability and prosperity for all. This is particularly important given the growing strategic importance of the region and the increasingly complex geopolitical environment.
India’s chairmanship of the SCO offers a chance for the country to play a leading role in shaping the organisation’s future direction. It also provides an opportunity for India to strengthen its relationships with other SCO members, particularly China and Russia, which have often been seen as India’s regional rivals.
India’s position as a major economic and military power in the region makes it an important player in the SCO. Its leadership can help promote the organisation’s focus on economic cooperation and connectivity, while also addressing security challenges in the region.
As India takes the helm of the SCO, it faces a challenging year ahead. However, by working together with other member states, India can help promote the organisation’s priorities of economic cooperation, security, and mutual respect. This could have a significant impact not only on the region, but on the world as a whole.
India’s role as the chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in 2023 has given rise to several questions about the country’s position in the region. As the SCO emerges as a significant regional organisation in Eurasia, comprising China, Russia, India, Pakistan and the Central Asian Republics, representing more than 40% of the world population and nearly a quarter of the global GDP, it has been guided by the principles of mutual trust, equality, respect for cultural diversity, and the pursuit of common development, encapsulated in the “Shanghai Spirit.” However, recent years have seen the SCO focus more on tangible initiatives of regional economic cooperation.
India’s chosen theme as chair of the SCO, “For a SECURE SCO,” echoes the organisation’s priorities of security, economic connectivity, unity and respect for the environment. However, there is no clarity on the “new type of international relations” the SCO has committed to building in the spirit of mutual respect, justice, equality and mutual benefit.
Some analysts have branded the SCO as an ‘anti-West’ alliance, but it may be too early to reach such a conclusion. The SCO countries have deep economic and financial linkages with the US and European countries. Nonetheless, the Samarkand summit’s call for a gradual increase in the share of national currencies in mutual settlements between the SCO member states could result in the US dollar losing its monetary hegemony, which could prove disconcerting for the US.
While India is a preferred partner of the US in the latter’s Indo-Pacific strategy and a key member of the QUAD, an alliance perceived as an instrument to contain China’s rise, India’s position on the SCO is yet to be seen. For now, India seems to be running with the hare and hunting with the hounds.
As chair, India will have to decide how it would accommodate its differences with Pakistan and China within the SCO, particularly as the Comprehensive Action Plan (2023-2027) for Implementation of Long-Term Good Neighbourliness, Friendship, and Cooperation among the SCO Members was adopted in Samarkand to attain alignment in common areas of interest.
India recently denied Pakistan’s participation in a seminar on ‘SCO armed forces contribution in medicine, healthcare, and pandemics’ due to differences over showing Kashmir as occupied territory on the map. This indicates that India could use its position in the SCO to politicise the organisation.
India also wants to project its tourism potential by hosting the SCO tourism ministers meeting in Varanasi and planning a G20 tourism working group meeting in Srinagar. However, Pakistan has expressed reservations over India’s decision to host meetings in the internationally recognised disputed territory.
India has extended an invitation to the Pakistani foreign minister to attend the May meeting of SCO foreign ministers in Goa, indicating Pakistan’s commitment to the SCO and its relationship with China and Russia. However, Pakistan need not make any effort for bilateral contact unless India itself takes the initiative.
Regional harmony is critical for India’s geopolitical interests, and much will depend on how India conducts itself as chair this year. If India does not inject its bilateral differences with China and Pakistan into the SCO ambit, then the organisation has the potential to deliver tangible regional economic cooperation in sync with the Shanghai Spirit.
In conclusion, India’s chairmanship of the SCO in 2023 has the potential to transform the region. India needs to carefully balance its bilateral differences with China and Pakistan within the SCO ambit and not politicise the organisation. The SCO has the potential to deliver regional economic cooperation that benefits all its members, provided the principles of the Shanghai Spirit guide the organisation.
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