Ministry of External Affairs

[Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Division]

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BRIEF ON SCO

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a eight-member multilateral

organization, established on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai, China by the leaders of China,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. These countries, except
for Uzbekistan, had been members of the Shanghai Five group, formed on 26 April
1996 with the signing of the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions. In
2001, during the annual summit in Shanghai, the five member nations first
admitted Uzbekistan in the Shanghai Five mechanism (thus transforming it into the
Shanghai Six). Thereafter, on 15 June 2001 the Declaration of Shanghai Cooperation
Organization, was signed and in June 2002 the heads of the SCO Member States signed
the SCO Charter which expounded on the organization’s purposes, principles, structures
and forms of operation, and established it in international law. At the July 2005 Astana
Summit, India, Iran and Pakistan were granted Observer status. In July 2015 in Ufa,
Russia, the SCO decided to admit India and Pakistan as full members. India and
Pakistan signed the memorandum of obligations in June 2016 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan,
thereby starting the formal process of joining the SCO as full members. On 9 June 2017,
at the historic summit in Astana, India and Pakistan officially joined SCO as full-fledged
members.

The SCO has established relations with the United Nations in 2004 (where it is an
observer in the General Assembly), Commonwealth of Independent States in
2005, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2005, the Collective
Security Treaty Organization in 2007, the Economic Cooperation Organization in 2007,
the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in 2011, the Conference on Interaction
and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in 2014, and the United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in 2015 (ESCAP), United
Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 2018.

Structure

SCO has two Permanent Bodies — (i) SCO Secretariat in Beijing and (ii) Executive
Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent. The
Chairmanship of SCO is by rotation for a year by Member States. Presently Kyrgyzstan
is the Chair of SCO for 2018-19.

The Council of Heads of States is the apex decision-making body in the SCO. This
council meets at the SCO summits, which are held each year in one of the member
states' capital cities. The Council of Heads of Governments is the second-highest
council in the organization. This council also holds annual summits, wherein members
discuss issues of multilateral cooperation. The council also approves the organization's
budget. The Council of Foreign Ministers holds regular meetings, where current
international situation and the SCO's interaction with other international organizations
are discussed. The Council of National Coordinators coordinates the multilateral
cooperation of member states within the framework of the SCO's charter.

The Secretariat of the SCO is the primary executive body of the organization. It serves
to implement organizational decisions and decrees, documents (such as declarations and
agendas), functions as a document depository for the organization, arranges specific
activities within the SCO framework, and promotes and disseminates information about
the SCO. It is located in Beijing. Each Member State has a Permanent Representative
to the SCO. The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), headquartered in Tashkent,
Uzbekistan, is a permanent organ of the SCO which serves to promote cooperation of
member states against terrorism, separatism and extremism. Each member state also
sends a permanent representative to RATS. The SCO Secretary General and the
Executive Director SCO RATS are appointed for a term of 3 years. Mr. Rashid Alimov
from Tajikistan and Mr. Yevgeny Sysoyev from Russia have respectively been the SCO
Secretary General and Executive Director of RATS since 1 January 2016. The Qingdao
Summit of SCO Heads of State held on 9-10 June, 2018 confirmed appointment of Mr.
Vladimir Imamovich Norov from Uzbekistan as the next Secretary General of SCO
from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021 and Mr. Zumakhon Faiyozovich Giyosov
from Tajikistan as the Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO-RATS from 1
January 2019 to 31 December 2021.
In addition to these, there are mechanisms for regular meetings of Heads of Parliament,
Ministers of Defence, Emergency Situations, Economy/Trade, Transport, Culture,
Education, Health, Justice, Supreme Courts, Prosecutors General, Secretaries of
National Security Councils, etc.
The official working languages of the Shanghai Cooperation organization are Chinese
and Russian.
Observer States
Observer states of SCO are Afghanistan (received observer status at the 2012 SCO
summit in Beijing, China on 6 June 2012), Belarus (accepted as a Dialogue Partner at
the 2009 SCO Summit in Yekaterinburg, and was granted observer status in 2015), Iran
(has observer status, and applied for full membership on 24 March 2008. After the UN
sanctions were lifted, Chinese president Xi Jinping announced support for Iran's full
membership in SCO in January 2016), Mongolia (became the first country to receive
observer status at the 2004 Tashkent Summit).
Dialogue Partners
The position of Dialogue Partner was established in 2008 in accordance with Article 14
of the SCO Charter of 7 June 2002. Presently the dialogue partners of SCO are
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal (was granted dialogue partner status in the SCO
at 2015 summit, Ufa, Russia), Sri Lanka (was granted dialogue partner status at the SCO
at 2009 summit,Yekaterinburg) and Turkey (a member of NATO, was granted dialogue
partner status at the SCO at 2012 summit, Beijing).
SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group
A protocol was signed between SCO and Afghanistan on the sidelines of the SCO Heads
of State Summit held in Qingdao on 9-10 June, 2018 to establish the SCO-Afghanistan
Contact group. The Contact Group is a consultative mechanism for developing
proposals and recommendations to support the efforts of the Government and People of
Afghanistan to establish a peaceful, stable and economically prosperous state, free from
terrorism and extremism.
India and SCO
India was granted Observer status at the July 2005 Astana Summit, and subsequently
participated in all SCO forums open to Observers. India formally submitted an
application for the full membership to the then SCO Chair, Tajikistan, prior to the SCO
Summit in Dushanbe in September 2014. Thereafter, the next SCO Summit in July 2015
in Ufa (Russia), declared the initiation of the process of accession of India’s (and
Pakistan’s) full membership in SCO.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the SCO Summit in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on
23-24 June 2016, wherein India signed the Memorandum of Obligations (MOO) to
obtain the status of Member of SCO. The MOO outlined various obligations to be
fulfilled by India in a sequential step-by-step and time bound manner to obtain full
membership. As per the obligations under MOO, India had acceded to 34 SCO
Agreements including the SCO Charter and Shanghai Convention on Combating
Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism and 3 additional SCO Agreements that entered
into force after signing the MOO. The MOO came into force for India on 25 March
2017, i.e 30 days after the last written notification from SCO members. India completed
all its obligations under the MOO and was granted the status of full member (along with
Pakistan) on June 9, 2017 at the SCO Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.

India’s entry into SCO as a full member since 9 June 2017, has been further activated
with the establishment of the SCO Division in MEA and appointment of National
Coordinator and Permanent Representative to SCO. There has been regular
participation in various SCO meetings. Shri Rajnath Singh, Minister of Home Affairs,
attended the 9th meeting of SCO Heads of Emergency Prevention and Relief Agencies
in Choplon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, on 24-25 August 2017. External Affairs Minister Ms.
Sushma Swaraj attended the non-regular meeting of SCO Council of Foreign Ministers
on 20 September 2017 on the side-lines of 72nd Session of UN General Assembly in
New York. MOS for Law and Justice, Shri P. P. Chaudhary led delegation attended 5 th
Law Ministers’ and expert meetings in Tashkent on 20-21 October, 2017. Commerce
and Industry Minister, Shri Suresh Prabhu attended the Meeting of SCO Ministers
responsible for external economic and external trade activities in Moscow on November
15, 2017. Ms. Pinki Anand, Additional Solicitor General, Ministry of Law and Justice
attended 15th SCO Prosecutor Generals meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia. EAM
attended the meeting of SCO Heads of Governments on 30 November- 1 December
2017 in Sochi, Russia. EAM attended the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting
held in Beijing on 23-24 April, 2018. Raksha Mantri led delegation attended the SCO
Defence Ministers meeting in Beijing, China on 24-25 April, 2018. MoS (IC) for
Tourism led delegation attended the SCO Tourism Ministers Meeting in Wuhan 7-11
May, 2018 and MoS (IC) for Culture visited Sanya for the 15th SCO Culture Ministers
Meeting 15-18 May, 2018. Additional Solicitor General, Ministry of Law and Justice
attended 16th SCO Prosecutor Generals meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on 20
September, 2018, EAM attended the meeting of SCO Heads of Governments on 11-12
October, 2018 and MoS Ministry of Human Resource Development attended the 7 th
meeting of SCO Education Ministers held in Astana on 17 October, 2018.

PM Shri Narendra Modi led the official delegation to Summit of Heads of State in
Qingdao, China on 9-10 June 2018. The meeting was chaired by President of the
People’s Republic of China Mr. Xi Jinping. President of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Mr. Sooronbay
Jeenbekov, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Mr. Mamnoon Hussain,
President of the Russian Federation Mr. Vladimir Putin, President of the Republic of
Tajikistan Mr. Emomali Rahmon, and President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Mr.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev participated.

The meeting was also attended by Heads of States of Observer countries, namely,
President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Mr. Ashraf Ghani, President of the
Republic of Belarus Mr. Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Islamic Republic of
Iran Mr. Hassan Rouhani and President of Mongolia Mr. Khaltmaagiin Battulga.

A total of 22 outcome documents were signed including the Joint Communique and
Appeal to Youth against radicalization. Other documents pertained to Prevention of
Narcotics Abuse, Environmental Protection, Fight against threat of Epidemics, Trade
Facilitation, MSMEs, Customs and Tourism. Plan of Action for SCO Treaty on Long
term Good Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation for 2018-2022 and Protocol
on the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group were also signed.

External Affairs Minister participated in the 17 th Council of Heads of Government

meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on 11-
12 October, 2018. This was the second CHG meeting since India became a full member
of SCO in June 2017. It was the first major meeting since Kyrgyzstan took over as chair
of the Organisation. Leaders discussed prospects for further development of SCO
including regional and international economic cooperation. A series of decisions were
taken on various issues of cooperation among SCO member states, including a
Memorandum on Technical Cooperation in the Field of Joint Prevention and Control of
Trans-boundary Diseases.

India hosted the preparatory Experts meeting for the SCO Joint Urban Earthquake
Rescue Exercise in New Delhi on 1-2 November 2018. The SCO Joint Urban
Earthquake Rescue Exercise as well as the 10th meeting of SCO Ministers of Emergency
Situations scheduled to be held in India from February 21-25, 2019 were postponed due
to Pulwama tragedy.

Secretary (West), MEA Shri A. Gitesh Sarma represented India at the last meeting of
SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group held in Bishkek on 18-19 April 2019. Raksha Mantri
Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman led a delegation of MoD to attend the 16th Meeting of Defence
Ministers of SCO Member Countries on 29 April 2019 in Bishkek. Kyrgyzstan will be
hosting meetings of Secretaries of National Security Councils, (13-15 May 2019),
Ministers of Foreign Affairs, (21-22 May 2019) followed by the SCO Heads of States
meeting (SCO Summit) on 13-14 June 2019.

May 2019

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 Annexure I
SCO- Chronology
1996: Shanghai Five’ constituted in 1996 by China to address border security issues
with Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
2001: On June 15th, 2001, Uzbekistan was invited to join the group, and it was officially
renamed the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Thus Uzbekistan too is founding
member of SCO.
2005-2015: Observer states admitted. India, Iran and Pakistan (2005), Mongolia (2004),
Afghanistan (2012) and Belarus (2015)
2009-2015: Dialogue Partners admitted. Sri Lanka (2009), Turkey (2012) and Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Nepal and Cambodia (2015)
2011 Jun: SCO adopts a model MoO to regulate grant of new membership.
2014 Sep Dushanbe: SCO Adopts 1) new MoO for applicant state to become a full
member; 2) Procedures for admitting new member and 3) Rules of Admission for new
members
2014 Sep Dushanbe: India submits its formal application for the full membership of the
SCO
2015 Jul Ufa: Decision of admitting India and Pakistan as new members is taken in the
Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the SCO (June 2015, Moscow) and announced at the
Ufa Summit in July 2015.
2015: India receives SCO documents (35) to be acceded to by India as per MoO.
2016 Jun 15 CCS approves signing of MoO and the 35 MoUs/Agreements under SCO
framework.
2016 Jun 24: MoO signing scheduled during SCO Summit in Tashkent.
2017 Mar 25: Memorandum of Understanding comes into force for India
2017 April – May: As per MoO, India is also obliged to accede to three more SCO
documents, viz., those that entered into force after we had signed MoO. CCS approves
and India submits with SCO Secretariat in Beijing the Instruments of Accession in re-
spect of this last set of documents.
2017 May 8: All the documents were acceded by India to become full members of SCO.
2017 June 9: India and Pakistan granted the status of full members bringing the total
membership to 8
2017 August 24-25: Hon’ble Home Minister led to the 9th Meeting of the Departments
of SCO Member States dealing with the issues of the prevention and elimination of
emergency situation at Cholpon Ata City, Kyrgyz Republic.
2017 September 20: Hon’ble EAM attended the Extra-ordinary Meeting of SCO Coun-
cil of Foreign Ministers in New York on the sidelines of 72nd Session of UNGA.
2017 October 20-21: Hon’ble MOS for Law and Justice, Shri P. P. Chaudhary led Indian
delegation attended the 5th SCO Law Ministers’ and expert meetings in Tashkent.
2017 November 15 : Hon’ble Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Suresh Prabhu
led the delegation in the meeting of the Ministers of SCO Member States responsible
for foreign economic and foreign trade activities in Moscow.
2017 November 28-30 : Additional Solicitor General, Ms. Pinky Anand attended the
15th SCO Prosecutor Generals meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia.
2017 November 30 – December 01: Hon’ble EAM led delegation attended the 16th SCO
Council of Heads of Governments meeting at Sochi, Russia.
2017 January 30 – 02 February: Mr. Yevgeniy Sergeyevich Sysoyev, Director, EC,
SCO-RATS, visited India for the SCO-RATS Legal Experts Group Meeting.
2018 April 23-24: External Affairs Minister attended the SCO Council of Foreign Min-
isters meeting in Beijing, China.
2018 April 24-25: Raksha Mantri led delegation attended the SCO Defence Ministers
meeting in Beijing, China.
2018 May 07-08: Mr. Rashid Alimov, Secretary General of SCO visited India on an
official tour.
2018 May 07-11: MoS (IC) for Tourism led delegation attended the SCO Tourism Min-
isters Meeting in Wuhan

2018 15-18 May, 2018: MoS (IC) for Culture visited Sanya for the 15 th SCO Culture
Ministers Meeting.
2018 June 9-10: Prime Minister led the Indian delegation to the first Summit of Heads
of State, after becoming full members.
2018 July 12: Secretary (West) led the Indian side for Consultations at Deputy Foreign
Ministers level on SCO’s International Activities and cooperation with International
Organisations.
2018 September 20: Additional Solicitor General, Ministry of Law and Justice attended
16th SCO Prosecutor Generals meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
2018 October 11-12: EAM attended the meeting of SCO Heads of Governments meet-
ing in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
2018 October 17: MoS Ministry of Human Resource Development attended the 7 th
meeting of SCO Education Ministers held in Astana.
2018 November 01-02: Preparatory meeting of SCO Urban Earthquake Search and Res-
cue Exercises held in New Delhi.
2019 April 18-19: Secretary (West) led a delegation to attend SCO-Afghanistan Contact
Group Meeting in Bishkek.
2019 April 29-30: Raksha Mantri Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman led a delegation to attend
16th Meeting of the Defence Ministers of SCO Member States.
 Annexure II
Summits
According to the Charter of the SCO, summits of the Council of Heads of State shall be
held annually at alternating venues. The locations of these summits follow the
alphabetical order of the member state's name in Russian. The charter also dictates that
the Council of Heads of Government (that is, the Prime Ministers) shall meet annually
in a place decided upon by the council members. The Council of Foreign Ministers is
supposed to hold a summit one month before the annual summit of Heads of State.
Extraordinary meetings of the Council of Foreign Ministers can be called by any two
member states.
List of summits
Heads of State
Date Country Location
14 June 2001 China Shanghai
7 June 2002 Russia Saint Petersburg
29 May 2003 Russia Moscow
17 June 2004 Uzbekistan Tashkent
5 July 2005 Kazakhstan Astana
15 June 2006 China Shanghai
16 August 2007 Kyrgyzstan Bishkek
28 August 2008 Tajikistan Dushanbe
15–16 June 2009 Russia Yekaterinburg
10–11 June 2010 Uzbekistan Tashkent
14–15 June 2011 Kazakhstan Astana
6–7 June 2012 China Beijing
13 September 2013 Kyrgyzstan Bishkek
11–12 September 2014 Tajikistan Dushanbe
9–10 July 2015 Russia Ufa
23–24 June 2016 Uzbekistan Tashkent
8–9 June 2017 Kazakhstan Astana
9-10 June 2018 China Qingdao
 Heads of Government
Date Country Location
14 September 2001 Kazakhstan Almaty
— — —
23 September 2003 China Beijing
23 September 2004 Kyrgyzstan Bishkek
26 October 2005 Russia Moscow
15 September 2006 Tajikistan Dushanbe
2 November 2007 Uzbekistan Tashkent
30 October 2008 Kazakhstan Astana
14 October 2009 China Beijing
25 November 2010 Tajikistan Dushanbe
7 November 2011 Russia Saint Petersburg
5 December 2012 Kyrgyzstan Bishkek
29 November 2013 Uzbekistan Tashkent
14–15 December 2014 Kazakhstan Astana
14–15 December 2015 China Zhengzhou
2–3 November 2016 Kyrgyzstan Bishkek
30 November – 01
Russia Sochi
December 2017
11-12 October, 2018 Tajikistan Dushanbe

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