21st SCO Summit held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Context

The 21st Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State was recently held recently via video Conferencing in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

Key- highlights of the meeting

• The focus was primarily on the ground situation in Afghanistan and its global repercussions.
• Members of the China and Russia-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation endorsed Iran's future membership of the bloc that already includes South Asian rivals India and Pakistan.
• The organisation seeks to combat ethnic separatism, religious extremism and terrorism in Central Asia.
• Afghanistan holds observer status at the SCO, but was not invited to observe proceedings in the wake of the Taliban's seizure of power.

India’s stand in the meeting 

The Indian delegation was led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He took a strong stance against 'radicalisation' and 'extremism', urging the eight-member panel to come up with a joint approach.

• PM Modi said the recent developments in Afghanistan will have the greatest impact on neighbouring countries like India and added that there was a need for regional focus and cooperation on the situation in the country.
• Modi warned that continued instability and fundamentalism in Afghanistan would encourage terrorist and extremist ideologies all over the world.
• India is committed to increasing its connectivity with Central Asia. 

About Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent international intergovernmental organization. 
• It was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
• The SCO Charter was signed in 2002, and entered into force in 2003.
• India was made an Observer at the SCO in 2005.

• In the historical meeting of the Heads of State Council of the SCO held in June 2017 in Astana, the status of a full member of the Organization was granted to the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.