Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Uzbekistan today and tomorrow to attend the 22nd Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2022. The Beijing-headquartered SCO is an eight-member economic and security bloc consisting of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.
This is the first time since the 2020 COVID pandemic that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his Pakistani counterpart Shahbaz Sharif along with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will attend the two-day summit.
Read also: Why PM Modi’s attendance at SCO Summit 2022 is important
Economic importance of PM Modi’s visit:
1. PM Modi is expected to meet Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Uzbekistan, where the two leaders are expected to discuss issues of strategic stability, the situation in the Asia Pacific region and bilateral cooperation within the United Nations and G20 Is. Apart from this, he can meet Chinese President Xi Jingping. The Prime Minister will also hold bilateral meetings with other leaders during the summit. “Economic cooperation in the SCO is an important question, which will be discussed in the SCO meetings. When we are meeting with the Central Asian countries, we discuss connectivity which is important for trade, trade between Indian and Central Asian countries. Will promote investment and other exchanges.” Manish Prabhat, Ambassador to Uzbekistan had told ANI.
Read also: SCO Summit 2022: All you need to know Relevance, Opportunities for India
2. The SCO can also be a vocal platform for India to pursue the agenda of regional and cross-regional connectivity which may force Pakistan to soften its views and approach to connecting Central Asia and South Asia Is.
3. Pakistan has blocked India’s strategic, economic and cultural interests by not facilitating connectivity and energy projects such as the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) power transmission line through its territory. In this context, India can also use the SCO to take forward the Chabahar port project and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). India, Iran and Uzbekistan also set up a trilateral working group in 2020 to seek greater convergence on Chabahar port and other connectivity projects. INSTC could be a game-changer for SCO member-states as it would connect them to India and the Indian Ocean and diversify their trade partners and routes. Iran’s role in this will be important.
4. The SCO also has potential in various new areas in which all member-states can find convergent interests. India has already worked hard for collaboration in startups and innovation, science and technology and traditional medicine.
5. India will also assume the presidency at the end of the summit by September 2023 and will also host the summit next year. In addition, India will also assume the presidency of the G20 (Group of Twenty) for one year starting from 1st December 2022 and is expected to host over 200 meetings across the country during the presidential term. “The next G20 summit will be held in New Delhi on September 9 and September 10, 2023,” the MEA had said.
The Shanghai Five, formed in 1996, became the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in 2001 with the inclusion of Uzbekistan. With the decision of India and Pakistan to accede to the grouping in 2017 and Tehran as full members in 2021, the SCO became one of the largest multilateral organisations, accounting for nearly 30 per cent of global GDP and the world’s largest 40 percent of the population.
The 2020 Moscow summit was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic while the 2021 summit in Dushanbe was held in hybrid mode. SCO observer states include Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia, while dialogue partners include Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Turkey, as well as Armenia and Azerbaijan.
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