Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

“Ever since the continents started interacting politically, some 500 years ago, Eurasia has been the center of world power”

The SCO is an intergovernmental organisation which was founded in 2001 by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Except for Uzbekistan, the other countries had been members of the Shanghai five which was founded in 1996.
SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) is a mutual security organisation.
   
Secretariat: Beijing
    Secretary General: Bolat Nurgaliyer (Kazakhstan)
    Working Languages:     Chinese, Russian
    Members: 6    China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan
    Observers:    Pakistan, India, Iran, Mongolia
    Dialogue Partners: Belarus, Sri Lanka
    Guest attendances: Afghanistan, ASEAN, CIS
    Purpose: Its purpose is to further cooperation between its members in various social, cultural, security and economic spheres.

Structure 
1)    The Council of Heads of State
    It is the top decision making body that meets at the SCO summit, held each year in one of the member state’s capital.
2)    The Council of Heads of Government
    It is the sound highest authority. It holds regular summit annually. It is responsible for passing budget.
3)    The Council of Foreign Ministers
    It is mainly concerned with interacting with other international organizations. It also discusses matters of international importance.
4)    The Council of National Coordinators
    It coordinates the multilateral  cooperation of member states within the SCO’s charter.
5)    Secretariat
    It is the primary executive body.

RATS (Regional Anti Terrorism Structure)
    It is Tashkent based permanent organ of SCO. It is established against terrorist activities.
Summits
    Date    _____________    Country    Location
    2001    _____________    China    Shanghai
    2002    _____________    Russia    St. Petersberg
    2003    _____________    Russia    Moscow
    2004    _____________    Uzbekistan    Tashkent
    2005    _____________    Kazakhstan    Astana
    2006    _____________    China    Shanghai
    2007    _____________    Kyrgyzstan    Bishkek
    2008    _____________    Tajikistan    Dushanbe
    2009    _____________    Russia    Yekaterinburg
    2010    _____________    Uzbekistan    Tashkent

History and Background
    In 1996, China, Russia and the three Central Asian States bordering on China — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan — signed the Shanghai Agreement on Confidence Building in the Border Areas in the military field followed in 1997 by the agreement on mutual reduction of military forces in the border areas.

    This shared security regime formed the first multilateral bond between these countries called the Shanghai Five.
    In 2001, the same group of countries along with Uzbekistan further consolidated their relations by setting up the SCO as an institution.

Activities of SCO 
Seurity (Security) Cooperation 
    SCO considers terrorism, separatism and extremism as its main threats. In 2004, RATS (Regional Anti Terrorism Structure) was established in Tashkent.
    Joint military exercises have taken place among SCO member states.
    In 2007 CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organisation) in Dushanbe was established in order to broaden cooperation in security, crime and drug trafficking.

Economic Cooperation 
    In 2003, a frame work agreement was signed in order to enhance economic cooperation. At th same time, the Chinese Premier Wen Jia Bias proposed the idea of fue trade area.
    In 2009, China announced plan to provide 10 billion US dollars as loans to SCO member states in order to shore up their struggling economics amid the global financial (financial) crisis.
    SCO member states are also developing plans for SCO energy club.

Cultural Cooperation 
    An arts festival and exhibition took place in Aslana in 2001.

Critical Analysis
    SCO is an organisation whose importance could not be denied. Its members possess 17.5% of world oil reserves, 47.5% of world natural gas reserves and 45% of World’s population.

    Most of the analysis consider SCO as a counterbalance to USA and Nato in Cental Asia.

    Dr. Ariel Cohen Says:
    “China uses SCO as a regional security organisation to project its power and influence abroad into Central Asia. It also restrains Russian influence in Central Asia by institutionalizing it. AT the same time, SCO is also a forum that strives to limit US influence in Central Asia and to solidify Chinese hold over Xinjiang.
    Hower Yu bin, an associate professor at the Wittenberg University, USA says.

    “SCO is not overtly aimed at counterbalancing US in Central Asia.”
    He writes.
    “For from being a military bloc, like the (Nato) Nato, in which members are obligated to defend one another, the SCO is a huge and diverse community of nations with considerable space for individual members to pursue their own policies for their own interests.
    Brzezinksi writes in his book “The Grand Chessboard”
    “How America manages Eurasia is Critical. A power that dominates Eurasia would control 2 of the world’s three most advanced and economically productive regions.