The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent Eurasian intergovernmental, political, economic, and security alliance formed in 2001, focusing on regional cooperation, counter-terrorism, and stability. As of 2025-2026, it includes 10 full members: China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Belarus.
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent regional intergovernmental body, officially founded on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai, China. It was created by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, evolving from the earlier framework known as the Shanghai Five.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a strategic partner of the United Nations on issues relating to political affairs and peace and security.
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation, comprising 9 Member States, namely the Republic of India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian ...
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic and international security organisation of ten member states. It focuses on political, economic, security and counter-terrorism cooperation.
SCO Shanghai Cooperation Organization | How does India benefit? Geo-Political Summary
Is India a permanent member of SCO?
In July 2015 in Ufa, Russia, the SCO decided to admit India (and Pakistan) as full Member. In June 2017, at the Summit in Astana, India (and Pakistan) officially joined SCO as a full- member. Iran was granted the status of a Member State at the SCO Summit hosted virtually by India on 4 July 2023.
For India, the SCO is a way to bring balance to its multi-aligned foreign policy, preventing the organisation from turning into a Beijing-dominated club that establishes Chinese pre-eminence in Central Asia. The SCO also promotes cooperation on connectivity and terrorism.
Official sources said that India is not satisfied with the language of the joint document and there was no mention of cross-border terrorist activities. It is believed that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's refusal to endorse the document resulted in the conclave ending without a joint communique.
Explanation: SCO Members (as of 2024): China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan is not a member; it follows a policy of permanent neutrality and is not part of the SCO.
The other name of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is the Shanghai Pact. The SCO is the successor to the Shanghai Five, a mutual security agreement formed in 1996 between China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.
SCO Marketing (Search Channel Optimization) is emerging as a crucial component alongside traditional SEO (Search Engine Optimization) in digital marketing strategies. This concept focuses on optimizing content across various search channels, including social media platforms, to improve brand visibility and engagement.
Although there are 23 different Civil Services, the most popular services are Indian Administrative Services (IAS), Indian Police Services (IPS), Indian Revenue Services (IRS) and Indian Foreign Services (IFS). The allotment of services to successful candidates depends on the rankings obtained in the examination.
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Explanation: India officially joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as a full fledged member on June 9 2017 along with Pakistan. SCO was founded in 2001.
Pakistan became a member of SCO in June 2017. From 2005 to 2017, it enjoyed the status of SCO Observer State. Pakistan's association with SCO is relatively new, but its association with SCO Member States is longstanding. It shares historical, cultural, civilizational and geographical ties with SCO Member States.
Which countries are current members of the SCO? As of 2025, the SCO includes ten countries: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, Iran, and Belarus.
While committing themselves to intelligence sharing, military cooperation, and counterterrorist activities, the members simultaneously insisted the SCO was not a military alliance. Formal alliance or not, SCO militaries have spent a good deal of time wargaming together since 2003.
Since the SCO has established a Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) with the aim of containing terrorism, India can benefit from this agency of the SCO in getting intelligence information on terrorist activities. Annual joint military exercises among the member states would provide valuable operational insights.
Though India is not a part of any major military alliance, it has a close strategic and military relationship with most of its fellow major powers. Countries considered India's closest include the United Arab Emirates, Russian Federation, Israel, Afghanistan, France, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and the United States.
It has also been argued that India's government and bureaucracy is geared against emerging as a superpower, with it being argued that it "does very little collective thinking about its long-term foreign policy goals, since most of the strategic planning that takes place within the government happens on an individual ...
Pant, professor of International relations at King's College London, highlighted the importance of India to US strategic planning, saying: "India is key to the US' ability to create a stable balance of power in the larger Indo-Pacific and at a time of resource constraints, it needs partners like India to shore up its ...
Addressing the Summit, Prime Minister highlighted India's approach to strengthening cooperation under the SCO framework. In this regard, he noted that India seeks greater action under three pillars – Security, Connectivity and Opportunity.
The SCO faces several challenges, including limited progress in deepening economic cooperation, persistent instability in Afghanistan, and criticism that it largely reflects the interests of its authoritarian members.
