About Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO):
- SCO is an intergovernmental organization founded in Shanghai, China, on 15 June 2001 by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
- Apart from Uzbekistan, the other five countries have been a part of the ‘Shanghai Five’ constituted in 1996 by China to address border security issues with four of its neighbours.
- The cooperation was renamed SCO after Uzbekistan joined the organization in 2001.
- The SCO currently comprises eight Member States: China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
- India and Pakistan became permanent members in 2017.
- The main objectives of the SCO are as follows:
- Strengthening mutual trust, friendship and neighbourly relations among the member states;
- Promoting effective cooperation in political, trade, economic, scientific, technical, and cultural spheres as well as in the realm of educational, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, and other areas;
- Jointly maintaining and safeguarding peace, security and stability in the region; and
- Fostering creation of democratic, fair and rational new international political and economic order.
- Structure:
- The Heads of State Council (HSC) is the supreme decision-making body in the SCO. It meets once a year and adopts decisions and guidelines on all important matters of the organisation.
- The organisation has two permanent bodies:
- The SCO Secretariat based in Beijing.
- The Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) based in Tashkent.
- RATS serves to promote cooperation of member states against terrorism, separatism and extremism.
- The official working languages: Chinese and Russian.
