Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Meeting 2021
The 21st meeting of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) Council of Heads of State kick started in Dushanbe, Tajikistan in a hybrid format. Citing the Afghanistan Crisis
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Meeting 2021
The 21st meeting of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) Council of Heads of State kick started in Dushanbe, Tajikistan in a hybrid format. Citing the Afghanistan Crisis, Indian PM Narendra Modi spoke about the increasing radicalisation, which he said has become the biggest challenge to peace and security.
Important Highlights:
- The political change in Afghanistan did not lead to an inclusive system and the process was not conducted through negotiation.
- The neighbours of Afghanistan would be seriously impacted by the developments in that country.
- The first issue is that the change of authority in Afghanistan was not inclusive and this happened without negotiation. This raises questions on the prospects of recognition of the new system. Representation of all sections of Afghans, including women and the minorities, is important. And that is why it is necessary that the global community should think carefully and collectively while deciding on the legitimacy of the new political system in Afghanistan.
- The Prime Minister expressed India’s support for the “central role” of the United Nations in the global deliberation regarding the current system in Afghanistan.
- The Taliban has declared an “interim government” in Kabul but India has not yet recognised that set-up.
- Terrorist and extremist ideologies will receive encouragement if Afghanistan continues to remain unstable and in the grip of fundamentalist forces.
- To deal with the fallout of the volatile situation in Afghanistan, the Prime Minister urged the SCO member-countries to frame a “code of conduct” to stop terror financing and cross-border terrorism. “The SCO member-countries should adopt strong and common norms to deal with the matter. These norms can be used in future for global anti-terror cooperation and can form a template for that.
- The fight against radicalisation was necessary for increasing trust among the SCO member-countries.
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
It is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation.
- It’s a Eurasian political, economic and military organisation aiming to maintain peace, security and stability in the region.
- It was created in 2001.
Membership: Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.
The SCO’s main goals are as follows:
Strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness among the member states; promoting their effective cooperation in politics, trade, the economy, research, technology and culture, as well as in education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, and other areas
