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Iran’s inclusion, boosting trade ties in agenda as India hosts SCO Summit.
Jul 05, 2023

New initiatives to bolster economic connectivity and trade and the inclusion of Iran as a new member state are expected to be among the outcomes of the virtual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit being hosted by India on Tuesday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be among the leaders hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the summit, which was originally expected to be held in-person.

India is chairing the SCO for the first time since it became a full member of the grouping, along with Pakistan, in 2017.

This will be the first multilateral meeting joined by Putin since a brief rebellion by the Wagner mercenary group on June 24. Besides Iran joining as a full member of the SCO during Tuesday’s summit, Belarus is set to sign a memorandum of obligations to become a member state, with the process expected to be completed in 2024.

The summit is set to begin with the prime minister’s remarks at 12:30pm and this will be followed by statements by other leaders and deliberations. The meeting is set to conclude by 2:45pm.

Regional security, especially the situation in Afghanistan and ways to counter radicalism and extremism, and the Ukraine crisis and its fallout on the Global South are expected to figure in deliberations at the summit, people familiar with the matter said.

Besides the SCO Summit declaration or the New Delhi Declaration, the Indian side has proposed four thematic joint statements – on cooperation in deradicalisation strategies, digital transformation, sustainable lifestyles to address climate change and promotion of millets – for adoption during the summit.

While India has signed on for the SCO’s initiatives to enhance economic connectivity and trade, it has kept away from any measures that endorse China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The people said this stance will continue at Tuesday’s summit.

Initial reports had suggested the summit would be held in-person, though the leaders of China and Pakistan did not provide formal confirmation about their attendance till last month, affecting the planning for the meeting. The Indian side has not formally offered any reason for holding the summit virtually.

The summit is being held against the backdrop of India’s strained relations with both China and Pakistan.

A military standoff between India and China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) for the past three years has taken bilateral relations to their lowest point in the last six decades, while ties between New Delhi and Islamabad have hit rock bottom over the issue of terrorism.

The summit is expected to discuss the regional security situation, the Ukraine crisis and bolstering cooperation between SCO states, especially ways to strengthen economic connectivity, the people said. In this context, India has taken a number of steps to enhance connectivity and trade with Central Asian states in recent years.

The theme for India’s presidency of SCO is 'SECURE' or security, economic development, connectivity, unity, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and environmental protection.

India also created five pillars and focus areas of cooperation under SCO – start-ups and innovation, digital inclusion, empowering youth, traditional medicine, and shared Buddhist heritage. New initiatives in these sectors are expected to figure in the joint declaration and other documents to be issued at the conclusion of the summit, the people said.

The SCO, created in 2001, currently comprises India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India’s association with the grouping began as an observer in 2005.

hindustantimes.com

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