Counterterrorism, trade, inclusive connectivity top India's SCO agenda

Countering terrorism, widening inclusive connectivity initiatives in Eurasia, stabilising Afghanistan and pushing trade in Central Asia-Eurasia top India's agenda, according to persons familiar with the matter. In this backdrop, four senior officials' meetings, national coordinators' meeting and SCO Film Festival are scheduled to take place this month.

Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury
  • Updated On Jan 23, 2023 at 08:49 AM IST
India’s presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has picked up momentum with the Narendra Modi government hosting several events in January to give shape to both hard and soft power agenda with an eye to balance China’s inroads across Eurasia.

Countering terrorism, widening inclusive connectivity initiatives in Eurasia, stabilising Afghanistan and pushing trade in Central Asia-Eurasia top India’s agenda, according to persons familiar with the matter.

In this backdrop, four senior officials’ meetings, national coordinators’ meeting and SCO Film Festival are scheduled to take place this month. Senior officials and national coordinators have met in Varanasi, which has been designated as the first-ever tourist and cultural capital of SCO for 2022-23.

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At the forthcoming Surajkund mela, SCO is a partner organisation. India is also hosting foreign and defence ministers’ meetings, besides national security adviser level meetings of the grouping, with the summit planned here in the middle of this year ahead of G20 Summit.

SCO is a key platform for India’s outreach to Central Asia. India is keen that SCO contributes to counter growing radical views and extremism in Eurasia, including Central Asia, which has direct bearing on the country’s strategic interests as a Eurasian power. Besides, there has been considerable focus on optimum use of Chabahar Port and the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) as viable and inclusive connectivity initiatives parallel to China’s Belt and Road Initiative in the region. India wants to connect Chabahar Port with the INSTC, which has over the past one year pushed Indo-Russian trade to an unprecedented level.

The success of India’s connecting Central Asia policy is also contingent upon support from the SCO members, and Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have displayed interest in using Chabahar Port. India is viewed as a stabilising factor in Eurasia with a benign outlook that helps to balance China’s inroads in the region. Russia has been a big votary of India's role in Central Asia in the backdrop of India's historical ties with the region and decades-old goodwill.

Central Asia in India's extended neighbourhood has emerged as one of the priorities for outreach, with the Modi government hosting a summit with leaders of all five Central Asian states in January 2022. The summit was held on the occasion of Republic Day but due to Covid-19, it was held virtually.

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The maiden India-Central Asia Summit decided to upgrade the existing defence partnership and agreed to consider holding of joint counterterrorism exercises with the six leaders agreeing that terrorism must be comprehensively countered to achieve a “world free of terror”.

At the last SCO summit under the Uzbek presidency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon SCO member states to give transit access to each other in a message to Pakistan and pitched for boosting connectivity for ensuring resilient supply chains for the region, pointing out that the pandemic and Ukraine crisis had impacted global supply chains.
  • Published On Jan 23, 2023 at 08:48 AM IST
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