Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is an intergovernmental Eurasian organisation established in 2001. Its principal mandate is to strengthen mutual trust and good-neighbourly relations among members while promoting regional peace, security, stability and development through coordinated cooperation.

Core security mandate

Security cooperation is centred on combating the three evils, namely terrorism, separatism and extremism, along with transnational crime and illicit drug trafficking. The SCO seeks to address these shared threats through consultation, information exchange and coordinated action rather than through supranational authority.

Wider regional cooperation

The SCO Charter gives the organisation a broader developmental role alongside security cooperation.

• Members cooperate in trade, investment, transport, energy, environmental protection, science, education, culture and other fields.
• The organisation seeks a peaceful, secure and stable regional environment conducive to economic and social development.
• Decisions are generally made by consensus, reflecting sovereign equality and respect for the members' national interests.

Institutional framework and relevance for India

The Council of Heads of State is the SCO's highest decision-making body. Its permanent bodies are the Secretariat in Beijing and the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent, which supports cooperation against terrorism, separatism and extremism.

• India became a full member in 2017, gaining a multilateral platform for sustained engagement with Central Asia and other major Eurasian states.
• For India, the SCO connects neighbourhood diplomacy with regional security, counter-terrorism, connectivity and economic cooperation.