SCO
Shanghai Cooperation Organization
Prepared By
FAYYAZ AHMAD
INTRODUCTION
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
Shanghai Pact
Shanghai Five
is a Eurasian political, economic and military organization
which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of
China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan & Uzbekistan.
These countries, except for Uzbekistan, had been members of
the Shanghai Five, founded in 1996; after the inclusion of
Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed the organization.
Origins and Background
• The Shanghai Five grouping was created 26 April 1996 with the
signing of the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions
in Shanghai by the heads of states of Kazakhstan, the People's
Republic of China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
• On 24 April 1997, the same countries signed the Treaty on Reduction
of Military Forces in Border Regions in a meeting in Moscow.
• Uzbekistan was admitted in the Shanghai Five mechanism and all six
heads of state signed on 15 June 2001, the Declaration of Shanghai
Cooperation Organization
MEMBER AND OBSERVER STATES
MEMBER STATE OBSERVER AND Dialogue STATES
People's Republic of China
OBSERVERS Dialogue State
Kazakhstan
• Iran • Turkey
Kyrgyzstan
• Mongolia • Nepal
Russia
• Afghanistan • Armenia
Tajikistan
• Byelorussia • Sri Lanka
Uzbekistan
• Cambodia
Pakistan
India
Shanghai Cooperation Organization(SCO)
Headquarters Beijing, People's Republic of China
Official language Chinese, Russian
Secretary General Rashid Olimov
Purposes of SCO
• strengthening mutual trust and good-neighborliness and friendship
among member states,
• developing their effective cooperation in political affairs, the economy
and trade, science and technology, culture, education, energy,
transportation, environmental protection and other fields,
• working together to maintain regional peace, security and stability,
• promoting the creation of a new international political and economic
order featuring democracy, justice and rationality.
Principles of SCO
• Adherence to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the
United Nations,
• Respect for each other's independence, sovereignty and territorial
integrity, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, mutual
non-use or threat of use of force,
• Equality among all member states,
• Settlement of all questions through consultations,
Principles
• non-alignment and no directing against any other country or
organization,
• opening to the outside world and willingness to carry out all forms of
dialogues, exchanges and cooperation with other countries and
relevant international or regional organizations.
SCO relation with other organizations
• The SCO has established relations with the United Nations,
• Where it is an observer in the General Assembly,
• The European Union,
• Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),
• The Commonwealth of Independent States and
• The Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Relation with WEST
• Western media observers believe that one of the original purposes of the
SCO was to serve as a counterbalance to NATO and in particular to avoid
conflicts that would allow the United States to intervene in areas bordering
both Russia and China.
• While the SCO (together with the BRICS) is described by Western analysts
as a way for Russia and China to cooperate with each other in creating
stability in Central Asia as well as challenging the current, Western-
dominated global order, the organization's lack of resources are seen as a
sign of weakness.
• The SCO has made no direct comments against the U.S. or its military
presence in the region; however, some indirect statements at the past
summits have been viewed by the western media as "thinly veiled swipes
at Washington”.
Institutional Set-Up of SCO
• Council of Heads of State
• Council of Heads of Government
• Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs
• Conference of Heads of Agencies
• Council of National Coordinators
• Secretariat (Dmitry Fedorovich Mezentsev)
• Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS)
SCO Cooperation in Various Areas
• SCO cooperation has covered wide-ranging areas
such as security, the economy, transportation,
culture, disaster relief and law enforcement, with
security and economic cooperation.
• SCO security cooperation focuses on the fight against
terrorism, separatism and extremism.
• Bilateral and multilateral joint anti-terrorism military
exercises among member states.
SCO Cooperation in Various Areas
• The SCO was among the first international organizations to advocate
explicitly the fight against the three evil forces.On15 June 2001, the
day when the SCO was founded, the Shanghai Convention Against
Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism was signed, clearly defining
terrorism, separatism and extremism for the first time on the
international arena.
• The year 2002 saw the establishment of mechanisms for economic
and trade as well as transportation ministerial meetings successively
as initial attempts to explore avenues of substantive cooperation in
trade, investment, transportation, energy and other areas.
