The outcome of the SCO in Samarkand shows that the members are bracing for a larger role on the world stage

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit of the eight-nation influential grouping took place amid the growing geo-political turmoil largely triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and China’s aggressive military posturing in the Taiwan Strait. Launched in Shanghai in June 2001, the SCO has eight full members, including its six founding members—China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan joined as full members in 2017.

Leaders of Russia, China, India, and other SCO member states attended high-level meetings in Uzbekistan’s historic city of Samarkand, focusing on regional and global stability, security, and economy. In the run-up to the main event, Uzbekistan, which held the SCO chairmanship this year, has hosted a total of more than 80 SCO-related events, with more than 40 documents signed, including the leaders’ summit declaration.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held separate bilateral meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. However, there was no bilateral meeting between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Modi began his comments by telling Putin that the “era of war” is over, indicating India’s discomfort with Russia’s attack on Ukraine for the first time in public, although New Delhi has not criticised Russia for its action thus far. “I know that today’s era is not of war and we have spoken to you many times on the phone that democracy, diplomacy and dialogue are such things that touch the world,” Modi said. His remarks on Ukraine have been widely appreciated by the Western and European countries.

Modi during his speech at the summit said, Covid-19 and Ukraine situation resulted in hurdles in the global supply chain, resulting in a food and energy security crisis. In April 2022, WHO inaugurated its Global Centre for Traditional Medicines in Gujarat. This was the first and only global center by WHO for traditional treatment. India will take an initiative for a new SCO working group on traditional medicines, said Modi.

“India’s economy is expected to grow at the rate of 7.5 per cent this year. I’m glad that ours is one of the fastest growing economies among the largest economies of the world,” he added.

Security, Iran’s nuclear programme, Afghanistan, and reforms of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) were discussed at the summit. The SCO’s growth is probably one of the key features of this year’s summit. A memorandum on Iran joining the SCO as full-time member has been adopted with Minsk of Belarus starting its accession as well. The organization also accepted Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar as dialogue partners, with an agreement being reached on the Maldives, Bahrain, the UAE, Kuwait, and Myanmar becoming new dialogue partners.

There were a number of important statements coming from SCO leaders on the second day of their work in Samarkand. Xi spoke against colour revolutions, while Putin pointed at the fundamental transformations which have taken place in world politics and the economy, calling them irreversible.

Being part of the SCO founders’ pool, Russia and China communicated actively in Samarkand, with Putin and Xi meeting one-on-one, as well as in trilateral format with Mongolian leader Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh.

The summit’s final declaration focused on members’ confirmation that the organization is not directed against other countries, with SCO nations agreeing not to interfere in the internal affairs of states. There were several important security-related issues in the declaration, such as the need to implement a plan on Iran’s nuclear programme, a call to create an inclusive government in Afghanistan, and an affirmation of the need to observe the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Besides being successful in organizing a productive summit, Uzbekistan’s officials also managed to draw the organization’s attention to an issue that is of particular importance for Tashkent itself, namely the need for Afghanistan to be accepted by the SCO family, with the topic being mentioned in the final declaration of the summit. Uzbekistan’s leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev also pointed at the need to lay out a long-term plan for the SCO’s development.

“The President of Uzbekistan [Shavkat] Mirziyoyev actually mentioned that we need to develop the strategy for the SCO’s future to 2040,” said Marat Aitov, who is the head of the department of the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

(The author is a foreign affairs commentator)