BharatNotes What is SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation)?
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental regional organisation founded in June 2001 in Shanghai. It evolved from the Shanghai Five (1996) — China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan — with the addition of Uzbekistan in 2001. The SCO Charter was signed in 2002 and came into force in 2003. Despite its name, its Secretariat is in Beijing, while its security arm, the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), is based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The SCO is today the largest regional organisation in the world by area and population. Its core security objective is to combat the "three evils" — terrorism, separatism and extremism — operationalised through the 2001 Shanghai Convention and RATS.
Membership (as of 2025)
The SCO has expanded steadily since its founding. As of the Tianjin summit (the 25th summit, September 2025), it has ten full members.
| Category | States |
|---|---|
| Founding (2001) | China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan |
| Joined 2017 (Astana) | India, Pakistan |
| Joined 2023 | Iran |
| Joined 2024 | Belarus (first European member) |
India and Pakistan became full members on 9 June 2017 at the Astana summit, the SCO's first expansion since 2001. Iran acceded in July 2023 and Belarus in July 2024. The grouping also has observer states (e.g. Mongolia, Afghanistan) and a tier of dialogue partners.
Structure and Working
- Council of Heads of State — the supreme decision-making body, meeting annually (the SCO summit).
- Council of Heads of Government — handles economic and budgetary matters.
- Secretariat (Beijing) — the standing executive body; the Secretary-General serves a fixed term (Kazakhstan's Nurlan Yermekbayev took charge on 1 January 2025).
- RATS (Tashkent) — coordinates intelligence-sharing and counter-terrorism among members.
Significance for India
For India, the SCO is a platform to:
- Engage Central Asia and advance connectivity (e.g. interest in the International North–South Transport Corridor and Chabahar).
- Pursue counter-terrorism cooperation through RATS while raising cross-border terrorism concerns.
- Practise strategic autonomy / multi-alignment, sitting alongside Russia, China, Pakistan and Iran in one forum even as it deepens ties with the West (Quad).
India hosted the SCO summit in 2023 (held in virtual format). India has consistently emphasised sovereignty and territorial integrity, declining to endorse China's Belt and Road Initiative in SCO documents.
UPSC Angle
This is a high-yield, recurring topic. For Prelims, memorise members, the two permanent bodies and their locations, and the founding/expansion timeline. For Mains (GS2), frame the SCO within debates on India's neighbourhood policy, Eurasian engagement, counter-terrorism diplomacy, and the tension of cooperating with rivals — a textbook case of India's balancing strategy.
