Cover Story

Regaining Relevance

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Islamabad provides Pakistan with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase its relevance regionally and globally.

By Farhat Ali | October 2024

The mesmerising beauty of the colourful October fall in the scenic city of Islamabad is looking forward to hosting the summit of heads of government (Prime Ministers) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) from October 15 to 16. The SCO is a political, economic, and security alliance founded in 2001 in Shanghai, China. Originally established by China, Russia, and several Central Asian countries, the SCO has expanded to include India and Pakistan as full members since 2017. Over its years of operation, the SCO has focused on fostering regional stability, combating terrorism, and promoting economic collaboration among member states.

The SCO should be looked through the lens that it belongs to a much bigger grouping under the Global Security Initiatives (GSI), unfolded by Chinese President Xi to establish a new great power relationship to counterbalance the U.S. dominance, notably in Asia. Disappointed with the U.S. pullback on China’s initiatives and global outreach, President Xi aligned with Russia in February 2022 and declared “no limits friendship with Russia.” Russia is now an integral part of President Xi’s initiatives for global outreach in the areas of economy, diplomacy, security, and peace.

The GSI emphasises Asia as an anchor for world peace, a powerhouse for global growth, and a new pacesetter for international cooperation. The GSI calls upon Indo-Pacific countries to cooperate and leverage the role of regional organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the economic grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), the China-Central Asia Summit, and mechanisms of East Asian cooperation. The GSI aims to realize the vision of Asian nations, handling Asia’s security affairs without outside interference, notably Western influence. Asian security concepts significantly differ from those of other regional economic collaborations, such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). The GSI envisions extending to other parts of the world, including Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America, and promoting peace and stability in the Middle East.

On the surface, the GSI does not pose an immediate threat to the U.S. and its allies and partners, but the West views its underlying intention with suspicion. Many countries that are part of the GSI and also have their interests aligned with the West are cautious about putting their full weight behind the GSI. Their balancing act between the GSI and the West is paying off.

Like previous SCO summits, the 24th Summit of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (CHS-SCO), held in Astana on 3-4 July 2024, concluded with the adoption of Strategic Documents covering security, trade, energy, finance, and information security. Noteworthy among these were the Astana Declaration 2024, the Energy Cooperation Development Strategy until 2030, the SCO Development Strategy until 2035, the Program for Cooperation in Countering Terrorism, Extremism and Separatism for 2025-2027, and the SCO Anti-Drug Strategy for 2024-2029. The declarations, at best, can be termed as long-term strategic vision. The SCO October 15-16 summit in Islamabad is expected to be no different - concluding on strategic dialogues and declarations. It’s about time SCO extends itself beyond dialogue and declarations with something tangible on the ground.

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