India's challenges as SCO chair

India has assumed the chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) for 2023, and has planned a series of meetings, including the forthcoming defence ministerial in New Delhi and the meeting of foreign ministers in Goa

- AIZAZ AHMAD CHAUDHRY

The SCO is emerging as an important regional organisation in Eurasia given that its membership (China, Russia, India, Pakistan and the Central Asian Republics) represents more than 40 per cent of the world population and nearly a quarter of the global GDP.

In its early years, it focused on security issues and was guided by the ‘Shanghai spirit’, encapsulating the principles of mutual trust, equality, respect for cultural diversity and the pursuit of common development.

Of late, the SCO has begun to put more emphasis on tangible initiatives of regional economic cooperation.

Its future ambitions were revealed recently at the Samarkand meeting of SCO heads of states last September. The leaders agreed to create efficient economic and transport corridors and work jointly on climate change, food security, energy security and reliable supply chains, and to accelerate the pace of informatisation and digitisation.

The theme chosen by India as chair also echoes these priorities: ‘For a SECURE SCO’, which stands for security, economic connectivity, unity and respect for the environment.