Modi to virtually host SCO summit on July 4; here’s why it is significant

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to host a virtual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Tuesday (July 4). The summit under India’s presidency is very special indeed, especially in the light of recent global political events that have had (or are having) far-reaching impact.

For instance, Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate in his first multilateral summit since an armed rebellion rattled Moscow. So, all eyes will be on him.

Also in attendance will be Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif, with the summit coming against the backdrop of the over three-year eastern Ladakh border standoff between Indian and Chinese troops.

Also, the summit is set to welcome Iran as a new permanent member of the grouping. According to news agency AP, Belarus is also in line for membership.

Also read: PM Modi speaks to Russia President Putin, discusses Ukraine crisis

Significance for Russia, India

According to Western political observers, the forum is more important than ever for Moscow, which is eager to show that the West has failed to isolate it. “This SCO meeting is really one of the few opportunities globally that Putin will have to project strength and credibility,” AP quoted Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute, as saying.

For Putin, the summit presents an opportunity to show he is in control after the short-lived insurrection by Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. “Putin will want to reassure his partners that he is very much still in charge, and leave no doubt that the challenges to his government have been crushed,” Tanvi Madan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told AP.

Western political experts also believe hosting Putin and Jinping just two weeks after Modi’s state visit in the US would be less than ideal. Therefore, a key priority for India would be to balance its ties with the West and the East, since it is also hosting the G-20 summit in September.

“The limitation with the SCO is that China and Russia are trying to turn it into an anti-Western grouping, and that does not fit with India’s independent foreign policy,” AP quoted Madan as saying.

Also read: Eastern Ladakh row: India, China hold in-person diplomatic talks in New Delhi

Theme of SCO summit

The theme of the Summit this year is “Towards a SECURE SCO”. Modi coined the SECURE acronym at the SCO’s Qingadao Summit in 2018, and it stands for Security; Economy and Trade; Connectivity; Unity; Respect for Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity; and Environment.

The situation in Afghanistan, the Ukraine conflict, and enhancing cooperation among the SCO member countries are expected to figure in the summit that will focus on regional security situation and ways to boost connectivity and trade, people familiar with the matter said.

What is the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or SCO?

The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzstan), Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. India’s association with the SCO began in 2005 as an observer country. It became a full member state along with Pakistan at the Astana summit in 2017.

It is an influential economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations. India assumed the rotating presidency of the SCO at the Samarkand Summit on September 16 last year.

Also read: Pak Foreign Minister terms India visit to attend SCO meet as productive

Heads of the two SCO bodies — the secretariat and the SCO RATS (Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure) — are also set to attend Tuesday’s virtual summit, and so are the heads of six international and regional organisations, who have been invited to the summit.

The organisations are the UN, the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organisation), EAEU (Eurasian Economic Union), and the CICA (Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia).

India’s presidency

India’s presidency of the SCO has seen significant activities in several areas. New Delhi has created five new pillars for cooperation in the SCO. These are startups and innovation, traditional medicine, digital inclusion, youth empowerment, and shared Buddhist heritage.

The special working group on startups and innovation and experts’ working group on traditional medicine were created on India’s initiative. “We intend to contribute substantially in both these areas,” said an official in the know.

To further Prime Minister Modi’s vision of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (The World is One Family), India emphasised building greater people-to-people connect, the source added. Several signature events have been held under the Indian presidency to deepen people-to-people connect.

India has also shown a keen interest in deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its RATS, which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.

(With agency inputs)