n July 4, the 23rd Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was held virtually. With India hosting the event, it was the final event of New Delhi’s SCO chairmanship in 2022-2023. The Republic of Kazakhstan will take over the chairpersonship of the organisation for 2023-2024.

The SCO countries have nearly 40 percent of the world’s population, more than 20 percent of the world’s GDP and will control around 20 percent of the global oil reserves with the inclusion of Iran as a full member. The SCO has nine members, now. All heads of the state of the organisation attended the summit.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif emphasised regional cooperation to “combat the three evils of terrorism, extremism and separatism.” Indirectly referring to Modi/ BJP’s anti-Muslim and anti-minorities persecution, the prime minister posited that minorities should never be demonised in the “pursuit of domestic political agendas.”

By and large, “[T]he participants reaffirmed their commitment to forging a more diverse, democratic, equitable and multipolar world order, based on generally recognised principles of international law, multilateralism, equal, indivisible, comprehensive and stable security, cultural and civilisational diversity, mutually beneficial and equitable cooperation between states, with the UN playing a central coordinating role.”

President Xi Jinping of China made an important speech. “He pointed out that sustaining peace and security is our common responsibility, promoting economic growth is a common task for all countries in the region, and all nations in the region aspire to see harmonious development of different civilizations… [his] remarks grasp the essence of regional and global issues and provides China’s propositions and solutions, such as the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilisation Initiative… China proposes that the SCO promote the establishment of an SCO development bank,” the Global Times reported.

President Vladimir Putin of Russian Federation, taking advantage of the SCO’s expanding platform, spoke his mind on regional and global issues with a focus on state sovereignty and regional trade integration. He said, “I would like to thank my colleagues from the SCO countries who have expressed support for the actions of the Russian leadership to protect the constitutional order and the life and security of its citizens… Russia counters all the external sanctions, pressures and provocations and continues to develop as never before.”

The prime minister also emphasised regional cooperation to “combat the three evils of terrorism, extremism and separatism.” Indirectly referring to Modi/ BJP’s anti-Muslim and anti-minorities persecution, he posited that minorities should never be demonised in the “pursuit of domestic political agendas.” 

President Putin highlighted the fact that around 80 percent of Russia-China trade was done in rouble and RMB. In addition, he called upon other SCO member countries to adopt similar procedures to enhance regional trade, market connectivity and, above all, economic cooperation. Importantly, Putin supported Belarus’s application for permanent membership of the Organisation next year. Belarus is a key regional ally of Russia and an important source of diplomatic support for its ongoing war with Ukraine.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the host country did not overtly discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine or China’s increasing presence in the Indo-Pacific. India is being very cautious. Its topmost priority is to become an economic power extra-regionally. To realise this ambition, it is courting all important economies and energy markets including China, Russia, the European Union, the ASEAN, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States. In neorealist terms, India is expanding on economic cooperation in order to enhance its military capabilities.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is getting dynamic thematically, geopolitically, commercially as well as organisationally. Since its inception in 2001, the SCO has been focused on security cooperation among the member states. With time, economic cooperation has also become one of the top priorities of the Organisation, which is expanding incrementally. India and Pakistan joined as full members in 2017 and Iran has obtained full membership only the other day. With Belarus about to become a member, the SCO is set to gain more members and, thus, political and economic clout in the foreseeable future. Being strategic partners, Pakistan and China can play a pivotal role in fostering regional peace, security and commercial cooperation through the SCO with reference to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

The writer has a PhD in political science from Heidelberg University and a post-doc from UC-Berkeley. He is a DAAD, FDDI and Fulbright fellow and an associate professor. He can be reached at ejaz.bhatty@gmail.com