India to host SCO summit: Who is attending, what to expect?

India is set to host a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit on Tuesday. The SCO, comprising India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, is an influential economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations. The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Pakistan became its permanent member along with India in 2017. But who is attending the summit? And what can we expect? Let’s take a closer look: Who is attending? India, which assumed the rotating chairmanship of the SCO at the previous Samarkand Summit in Uzbekistan on September 16, is hosting the SCO summit in a virtual format. According to Indian Express, while the summit was originally scheduled to take place in New Delhi, the decision to change it to a virtual format was taken in early June.

The summit will begin around 12.30 pm and conclude around 3 pm.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif and other leaders of SCO nations. This will be Putin’s first participation in a multilateral summit after a mercenary group launched a short-lived armed rebellion last week that rocked Moscow. The summit is also taking place against the backdrop of the over three-year eastern Ladakh border standoff between Indian and Chinese troops, and two weeks after Prime Minister Modi’s high-profile visit to the US. Turkmenistan has been invited as the guest of the Chair, as per Business Today. Heads of six international and regional organisations have also 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 CICA (Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia). 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 whose theme is “Towards a SECURE SCO’. The SECURE acronym was coined by Prime Minister Modi at the 2018 SCO summit and it stands for Security; Economy and Trade; Connectivity; Unity; Respect for Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity; and Environment. What can we expect? As per Business Today, Xi is slated to make ‘significant remarks’ The outlet quoted Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning as saying, “As a founding member, China views the SCO as a priority in its foreign affairs. We stand ready to work with other members to act on the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilisation Initiative, build an even closer SCO community with a shared future and usher in a brighter future for the Eurasian continent.” [caption id=“attachment_12819512” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Flags of countries in Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Reuters[/caption] Pakistan’s foreign ministry added, “The Prime Minister’s participation in the CHS illustrates the high importance that Pakistan attaches to the SCO, as an important forum for regional security and prosperity, and enhanced engagement with the region.”

All eyes will be on Putin.

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,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute. None of the member countries has condemned Russia in U.N. resolutions, choosing instead to abstain. China has sent an envoy to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, and India has repeatedly called for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. For Putin personally, the summit presents an opportunity to show he is in control after a 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,” said Tanvi Madan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Analysts say China, seeking to posture itself as a global force, is becoming a dominant player in forums like the SCO, where interest for full membership from countries like Myanmar, Turkey and Afghanistan has grown in recent years. “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,” said Madan. The SCO could also prove challenging for Washington and its allies in the long run. “For countries uncomfortable with the West and their foreign policies, the SCO is a welcome alternative, mainly because of the roles Russia and China play. … I think that highlights just how relevant and concerning this group could be for a number of Western capitals, especially if it keeps expanding,” said Kugelman. The summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) under India’s presidency is also set to welcome Iran as the new permanent member of the grouping. According to Mint, leaders are also likely to make a push for Belarus to join the group. “Bahrain, Kuwait, Myanmar, the Maldives and the UAE are about to join SCO-led cooperation efforts as new dialogue partners," the outlet quoted the Russian foreign ministry as saying in a press release. The situation in Afghanistan, the Ukraine conflict and enhancing cooperation among the SCO member countries are expected to figure in the summit, people familiar with the matter said, adding boosting connectivity and trade is also likely to be discussed. Leaders of the SCO nations are expected to focus on regional security situation and ways to boost connectivity and trade. The group so far has focused on deepening security and economic cooperation, fighting terrorism and drug trafficking, tackling climate change and the situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over in 2021. When the foreign ministers met in India last month, Russia’s war on Ukraine barely featured in their public remarks but the fallout for developing countries on food and fuel security remains a concern for the group, analysts say. [caption id=“attachment_12789002” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] All eyes will be on Russia’s Vladimir Putin. AP[/caption] India and SCO A key priority for India in the forum is to balance its ties with the West and the East, with the country also hosting the Group of 20 leading economies’ summit in September.

It’s also a platform for New Delhi to engage more deeply with Central Asia.

“India glorifies in this type of foreign policy where it’s wheeling and dealing with everybody at the same time,” said Derek Grossman, an Indo-Pacific analyst at the RAND Corporation. New Delhi, observers say, will be looking to secure its own interests at the summit. It will likely emphasize the need to combat what it calls “cross-border terrorism” — a dig at Pakistan, whom India accuses of arming and training rebels fighting for independence of Indian-controlled Kashmir or its integration into Pakistan, a charge Islamabad denies. It may also stress the need to respect territorial integrity and sovereignty — a charge often directed towards its other rival, China. India and China have been locked in an intense three-year standoff involving thousands of soldiers stationed along their disputed border in the eastern Ladakh region. India’s presidency of the SCO saw significant activities in a number of areas. New Delhi created five new pillars for cooperation in 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 one of the people cited above. To further Prime Minister Modi’s vision of Vasudhaiv Kutumbakom (world is one family), India emphasised on building greater people-to-people connect, the person said. A number of signature events were held under the Indian presidency with the intention to further deepen people to people connect. India’s association with the SCO began in 2005 as an observer country. It became a full member state of SCO at the Astana summit in 2017. India has 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 inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook _,_  Twitter  and  Instagram _._