India’s SCO Presidency: Navigating Geopolitical Complexities

 Keywords: SCO, India’s Presidency, Eurasia, Geopolitical competition, China, Russia, US

Date: 02 July, 2023

India will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State summit on 4 July 2023 for the first time, in a virtual mode. The upcoming summit will be a test for India in taking along all the members and chalking out an agenda for future cooperation. New Delhi must drive the SCO agenda towards encouraging cooperation in regional security and stability, energy, trade, agriculture, connectivity, health, traditional medicine for mutual benefit. 

India assumed the rotating chair of the SCO at the Samarkand Summit in 2022. The Presidency has given India an opportunity to further expand and strengthen its ties with the region. It has also further boosted India’s Eurasian strategy. As the chair, India has campaigned for cooperation in new areas such as start-ups and innovation, traditional medicine, digital inclusion, youth empowerment and shared Buddhist heritage. 

The SCO, spread over a wide geographical area, is a potent actor in the region. India’s journey in the SCO from an Observer in 2005 to full membership in 2017 reflects the rapidly evolving partnership with the region. The ‘Connect Central Asia Policy of 2012’, a major blueprint of India’s policy towards Central Asia provided a roadmap for enhancing cooperation with regional bodies like the SCO. 

India and Pakistan became members of SCO when the first expansion exercise of the regional bloc took place in 2017. With membership in the SCO, India became a member of a regional organization in Eurasia for the first time. Sharing a common platform to discuss issues of similar concerns with the four CAS and Russia and China, the two most powerful neighbours of the region, make India’s SCO membership significant. 

The theme of this year’s summit “Towards a SECURE SCO” which stands for security, economy and trade, connectivity, unity, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and environment mirrors India’s commitment towards building a dynamic partnership among the SCO members. Hosting of the first ‘SCO Start up Forum’, ‘SCO Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) forum’ and the ‘SCO Young Scientist Conclave’ are a few examples of India’s initiatives. 

Since admission in the SCO, India has hosted a number of significant meetings under the SCO platform. In November 2019, India organized the Heads of Agencies of the SCO Member States dealing with disaster management. A virtual meeting of the Consortium of Economic Think Tanks held in August 2020, which adopted an Action Plan for joint research to improve economic engagement within the SCO region. In November 2020, India, for the first time, hosted the Council of Heads of Government, the second most important body of the Organization, dealing with trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation. 

India’s greatest strength in the region is the goodwill that it enjoys among the people of the region. India has been actively promoting greater cultural and people-to-people cooperation to revamp its civilizational linkages with the region. Recognising the importance of promoting cultural, entrepreneurial and educational activities for a long-lasting partnership, India has taken initiatives to promote tourism among the members. 

Varanasi in India was declared as the ‘SCO Tourism and Cultural Capital’ for the year 2022-23. The 2022 Declaration also suggested holding tourism exhibitions like the ‘Eight Wonders of the SCO’ and establishing ‘SCO Tourism Forum’.  As the Chair of the Council of Heads of Government in 2020, India organised the SCO-Digital Exhibition of the Shared Buddhist Heritage and translated ten Indian literary classics in Russian and Chinese.

India has also been actively working with the member-states for regional security, counter-terrorism, socio-economic cooperation, regional connectivity, etc. In a first, India participated in the SCO Peace Mission Exercise in 2018, a significant defence cooperation initiative held biennially among the SCO member-states. India also took part in the anti-terror drill of the SCO in August 2018 at Chebarkul, Russia and participated in the SCO Peace Mission 2021 held at Orenburg, Russia. 

As suggested by scholars, India can take the initiative in developing a SCO Consensus Document or Draft Convention against international terrorism for adoption by the United Nations. Earlier, the SCO-RATS had suggested creating a unified register of terrorists and extremist organizations. India could take the lead to prepare the unified register. Such an exercise may also compel Pakistan to come onboard despite the fact that it has often opposed listing terror outfits emanating from its soil.