India is chairing the SCO this year and has invited the foreign ministers of the Organization's member countries to a meeting scheduled for May 4-5 in Goa.

India assumed the chairmanship of the group in September last year and plans to hold several key ministerial meetings and a summit later this year in 2023.

On the eve of the summit, the defense ministers of nine member states, as well as the ministers of National Security, Interior and Environment will also meet in India. The ministerial meetings are expected to begin in March. And from January 27 to 31, the SCO Film Festival will be held in Mumbai.

According to Financial Express sources, the agenda of the upcoming meetings is still in the process of being agreed. However, when the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defense and Internal Affairs meet, they necessarily discuss countering terrorism, radicalism, the fight against drugs, energy and food security, the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan under the Taliban 2.0.

The publication believes that the projects of the International North-South Transit Corridor (INSTC) and the TAPI gas pipeline (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) will also be on the agenda of the upcoming SCO meetings.

The SCO grouping covers more than 60% of the area of the Eurasian continent, 40% of the world's population and 30% of global GDP. More and more countries are showing interest in becoming part of the Organization, especially from the Arab world, many of which have received the status of a dialogue partner.

The Indian presidency aims to give impetus to the Chabahar Port trade corridor and projects such as the North-South transit corridor and the TAPI gas pipeline.

Delhi is also committed to actively working on the creation of a Dedicated Startup and Innovation Working Group and a Working Group of Traditional Medicine Experts to ensure global coverage of Make-in-India and Ayurveda.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has existed for two decades and includes Russia, China, India, Pakistan and four Central Asian countries – Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Iran became a new full member of the SCO in September 2022 at the last summit in Samarkand, where the head of Turkmenistan also participated as an honorary guest.

ORIENT news