- The 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit was held in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
- One of the most important outcomes of the summit was the signing of the Bishkek Declaration.
- The SCO, therefore, provides India with an important platform to protect and advance its geopolitical interests in the region.
- How the member countries manage these contradictions will determine whether the organisation can truly emerge as one of the important geopolitical platforms of a changing multipolar world.
The 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit was held in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. This was an important summit as it marked the 25th year of one of the most significant geopolitical organisations in Eurasia. The summit became even more important as it came at a time when global geopolitical stability has increasingly been questioned. It was particularly significant because one of the member nations, Iran, has been involved in months of conflict with Israel and the United States of America.
There was major participation at the summit. The leaders in attendance included Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, along with the leaders of other SCO member states.
One of the most important outcomes of the summit was the signing of the Bishkek Declaration. The declaration reflected the view that the world order is becoming increasingly multipolar. This is important because global power and economic growth are gradually shifting from the West towards the East. Countries situated in the eastern part of the world, particularly those in the Global South, are increasingly being considered the next centres of global growth.
This is where the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation becomes increasingly relevant.
The SCO has emerged as an important platform for countries across Eurasia. As Eurasia gains greater geopolitical and economic importance, the organisation provides its member states with an opportunity to cooperate and engage with one another on issues of security, connectivity, diplomacy, and economic development. The growing importance of Eurasia is also connected to the changing geopolitical realities of the world. The region possesses significant natural resources, strategic geographical locations, and emerging economic opportunities. As competition between major powers continues to increase, Eurasia has increasingly become an important geopolitical theatre.
The SCO, therefore, represents an important platform for countries that want to participate in and influence the changing geopolitical order. However, while the organisation provides significant opportunities, it also faces fundamental internal contradictions and geopolitical challenges.
Terrorism, the Iran Conflict and India’s S-C-O Vision
One of the major gains for India at the summit was the strong position taken by SCO member states against terrorism. The member countries agreed that there should be no double standards when dealing with terrorism. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated India’s long-standing position that there is no such thing as a “good terrorist” or a “bad terrorist.”
This is a significant development for India because the SCO also includes Pakistan as a member. For decades, India has accused Pakistan of supporting and enabling terrorism. Therefore, the SCO’s position against double standards on terrorism raises an important question for Pakistan. The issue becomes even more significant when considering the original purpose of the SCO. One of the main reasons behind the creation of the organisation was to combat terrorism, extremism and security threats across Eurasia. However, the participation of Pakistan creates a fundamental contradiction for the organisation. An organisation created primarily to fight terrorism includes a country that has repeatedly faced accusations of supporting terrorist groups.
This is where India’s involvement becomes particularly important.
India has not only been a victim of terrorism but has also increasingly emerged as an important voice against extremist and terrorist forces across the world. Therefore, the SCO’s commitment to avoiding double standards on terrorism is an important diplomatic advantage for India and could strengthen the organisation’s original security objectives.
Another important issue discussed at the summit was the conflict involving Iran.
Iran has been deeply involved in conflict with Israel and the United States of America. SCO member countries agreed that conflicts and disputes should be resolved through political and diplomatic means.
This is particularly important for countries such as India.
India maintains strong and important relations with the United States while also maintaining significant relations with Iran. Similarly, several Central Asian countries maintain relations with both sides. Therefore, a diplomatic approach provides countries such as India and the Central Asian nations with an opportunity to support dialogue and political engagement without being forced to take sides.
The SCO, in this regard, provides an important platform where countries with different geopolitical relationships can discuss conflicts and support diplomatic solutions. This becomes particularly relevant at a time when geopolitical tensions have increasingly divided the international community into competing blocs.
An important idea presented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the framework of S-C-O, where:
S stands for Security
C stands for Connectivity
O stands for Opportunity
The framework itself reflects India’s priorities within the organisation.
One of the main reasons behind India’s participation in the SCO has been security. The willingness of member countries to cooperate against terrorism and improve security across the Eurasian region has been one of the major reasons for India’s engagement with the organisation. Security and counter-terrorism remain among the foundational goals of the SCO. India’s participation, therefore, has been closely connected to the belief that a stable and secure Eurasian region is necessary for greater regional cooperation.
The second important area is connectivity.
India considers Central Asia to be part of its extended neighbourhood. The SCO provides India with greater opportunities to engage with and access the wider Eurasian region.
Eurasia is increasingly being viewed as an important region for future economic growth. The region possesses important natural resources and other factors necessary for economic development. At the same time, its strategic location has made it a major geopolitical theatre.
India’s participation in the SCO provides the country with greater geopolitical visibility and engagement across Eurasia. Connectivity is therefore important not only from an economic perspective but also from a strategic perspective.
The third element is opportunity.
As Eurasia becomes increasingly important in global politics and economics, the SCO provides India with opportunities to strengthen its political, economic and strategic engagement with the region. It also provides a platform for India to build stronger relationships with Central Asian countries and participate more actively in the geopolitical developments shaping Eurasia.
China’s and Russia’s Influence and India’s Role Within the Organisation
Despite these opportunities, there are also several fundamental geopolitical challenges within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. One of the most important questions concerns the role of China. China has been one of the major forces behind the SCO and remains one of the most influential countries within the organisation. Several geopolitical observers believe that China has increasingly used multilateral organisations to advance its geopolitical interests and strategic ideas.
With Russia also playing a major role within the organisation, the influence of China and Russia has become even more significant.
Russia and China have increasingly aligned their geopolitical interests, particularly as both countries face challenges in their relations with Western powers. Their growing cooperation has strengthened their collective influence within organisations such as the SCO. Because of the strong presence of Russia and China, several geopolitical experts believe that the SCO is gradually moving away from some of its original foundational objectives and is increasingly becoming a platform through which larger geopolitical interests are pursued.
This raises an important question for India.
Is India genuinely benefiting from its membership in the SCO?
Is India able to influence and shape the organisation, or is it merely expected to listen to and follow the geopolitical ideas promoted by China and Russia? This remains one of the most important questions regarding India’s long-term participation in the SCO.
Over a period of time, India has attempted to navigate these challenges.
India’s participation is also important for the SCO itself. India has maintained a relatively independent position within the organisation. It has attempted to preserve its strategic autonomy and has not allowed itself to become completely aligned with either Chinese or Russian geopolitical positions.
India’s presence prevents the SCO from becoming an organisation completely dominated by China and Russia. It introduces another major geopolitical voice into the organisation and ensures that different strategic perspectives continue to exist within the bloc.
India also continues to emphasise the original principles of the organisation, particularly security, counter-terrorism and regional cooperation.
In this sense, the SCO benefits from India’s participation just as India benefits from the opportunities provided by the organisation.
India’s ability to maintain this balance has been particularly important because the organisation brings together countries with significantly different geopolitical interests. India has attempted to participate in Eurasian cooperation without compromising its relations with other major powers, including the United States and its partners.
This strategic position allows India to maintain its independence while still participating in an organisation dominated by some of the world’s most influential Eurasian powers.
Pakistan, Eurasia, and the Future Relevance of the SCO
However, Pakistan’s membership continues to create significant geopolitical challenges for India. While India has attempted to maintain its strategic position within the SCO, the presence of Pakistan has complicated India’s geopolitical opportunities within the organisation.
Any major initiative related to security and terrorism is inevitably affected by the differences between India and Pakistan. This creates difficulties in developing common positions and effective policies within the organisation.This is particularly problematic because security and counter-terrorism were among the main reasons behind the formation of the SCO.
The member countries must therefore understand that the organisation needs to focus on broader common geopolitical interests rather than allowing narrow geopolitical objectives of individual countries to influence its functioning.
For the SCO to become more effective, it must remain focused on the larger challenges affecting Eurasia, including terrorism, regional security, connectivity, economic cooperation, and geopolitical stability.
Despite these challenges, the SCO remains an important opportunity for India to expand its geopolitical presence across Eurasia. India has increasingly focused on Central Asia as an important part of its broader geopolitical strategy. Central Asia provides India with opportunities to strengthen political and economic engagement with a strategically important region.
Through its membership in the SCO, India has greater opportunities to engage with Central Asian countries and strengthen its presence in Eurasia. As the geopolitical realities of the world become increasingly complicated and competition among major powers continues to grow, Eurasia is becoming more important. The region is increasingly emerging as a centre of geopolitical competition, economic opportunity and strategic connectivity.
The SCO, therefore, provides India with an important platform to protect and advance its geopolitical interests in the region. The 26th SCO Summit in Bishkek demonstrated both the opportunities and the challenges facing the organisation.
The signing of the Bishkek Declaration, the strong position against double standards on terrorism, discussions on the Iran conflict, and India’s emphasis on Security, Connectivity and Opportunity highlighted the growing geopolitical importance of the SCO. At the same time, fundamental challenges remain.
The strong influence of China and Russia, the geopolitical differences among member states, and the continuing tensions between India and Pakistan create serious limitations for the organisation. However, as the geopolitical realities of the world continue to change and power increasingly shifts towards Eurasia and the Global South, the SCO has emerged as an important geopolitical platform.
For India, the organisation provides an opportunity to expand its presence across Eurasia, strengthen relations with Central Asian countries, and contribute to discussions on security, connectivity, and regional development.
The future relevance of the SCO will depend on whether its member countries can focus on their broader common geopolitical interests rather than allowing the organisation to become a platform for the narrow geopolitical ambitions of only a few states.
As the geopolitical importance of Eurasia and the Global South continues to increase, the SCO has the potential to become an increasingly important platform. However, it will ultimately be up to its member countries to ensure that the opportunities emerging across Eurasia are used to strengthen cooperation, security, connectivity and economic development across the region.
For India, the challenge will be to continue using the SCO as a platform for advancing its interests in Eurasia while maintaining its strategic autonomy and ensuring that its participation is not limited by the geopolitical agendas of other major powers.
The summit in Bishkek demonstrated that the SCO has both significant potential and serious internal contradictions. How the member countries manage these contradictions will determine whether the organisation can truly emerge as one of the important geopolitical platforms of a changing multipolar world.
Aayush Pal is a freelance writer on contemporary geopolitical developments. The views expressed in his work are entirely his own.
Divyanka Tandon 
Anjali Singh