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    Op-Ed                                                             SEPTEMBER 11, 2026       |  The Indian Eye 16

                    IS THE SCO BECOMING

                      AN IMPORTANT VOICE

                          IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS?

               The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is still far from becoming a cohesive alternative to

              Western-led institutions, but its growing relevance reflects a world order in which non-Western

                                                    powers increasingly want a larger say.

            ASHISH K SINGH                                                                                        ditional documents and advanced
                                                                                                                  the practical establishment of new
                  he Shanghai Cooperation Or-                                                                     mechanisms dealing with security
                  ganization  (SCO)  is  no  lon-                                                                 challenges and transnational crime.
            Tger simply a regional security                                                                           Its geographical  reach  has  ex-
            grouping centered on Central Asia.                                                                    panded considerably since India and
            Its latest summit in Bishkek suggests                                                                 Pakistan joined in 2017. Iran is now
            that it is gradually becoming a forum                                                                 a member, while Belarus has also
            where some of the most consequen-                                                                     joined, and the organization has a
            tial disputes in global affairs are dis-                                                              substantial network of observers and
            cussed — from the West Asia conflict                                                                  dialogue partners extending into the
            and Iran to Afghanistan, sanctions,                                                                   Middle East and Southeast Asia.
            energy security, trade and the future                                                                     But the SCO’s limitations are
            of the international order.                                                                           equally obvious. India and China
                That does not mean the SCO is                                                                     remain strategic competitors. India
            emerging as a unified geopolitical bloc.                                                              and Pakistan have deep political and
            Its membership includes India, China,                                                                 security differences. Russia’s con-
            Russia,  Iran  and  Pakistan,  countries                                                              frontation with the West creates an-
            whose interests often diverge sharp-                                                                  other fault line. The grouping there-
            ly. Yet precisely because these com-                                                                  fore lacks the political cohesion of a
            peting powers sit around the same                                                                     conventional alliance.
            table, the organization is acquiring a                                                                    Its importance should conse-
            relevance  that  is  difficult  to  ignore.                                                           quently not be measured by whether
                The  Bishkek  Declaration  is  re-  Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President   it can act as an alternative to NATO,
            vealing in this regard. The 10-mem-  Xi Jinping during the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, in Bishkek on   the G7 or the United Nations. That is
            ber  grouping  reaffirmed  its  support                Tuesday (Reuters/ANI Video Grab)               probably the wrong benchmark. The
            for a multipolar world order, op-                                                                     SCO’s emerging role is as a platform
            posed unilateral coercive economic                                                                    where the political preferences of a
            measures and called for reforms in   significant at a time when economic   ments, navigation and commerce.   large part of the non-Western world
            global economic governance. It also   restrictions have become an increas-  India  also  reaffirmed  its  willingness   can be expressed collectively.
            backed  a  more  open  and  inclusive   ingly important instrument of West-  to cooperate with Iran through mul-  Its greatest strength may ulti-
            multilateral trading system.      ern foreign policy.               tilateral platforms such as the SCO   mately be its diversity. A forum that
                The  significance  lies  less  in  the   The organization’s position on   and BRICS.              brings together countries that dis-
            language of the declaration than in   Iran illustrates this changing dynam-  This demonstrates why the SCO   agree with one another but share an
            the political weight of the countries   ic.  The  Bishkek  Declaration  con-  can matter to New Delhi. It allows   interest in a more multipolar interna-
            behind it. Russia and China are al-  demned  military  strikes  on  Iranian   India to engage simultaneously with   tional system has considerable diplo-
            ready challenging aspects of the US-  territory, supported Iran’s sover-  Russia, China, Iran and Central   matic value.
            led international system. Iran has   eignty  and  territorial  integrity,  and   Asian  countries while  retaining the   The  SCO  is  unlikely  to  replace
            become  central  to  the  geopolitical   called for the conflict to be resolved   freedom to pursue its own relation-  existing global institutions. But as the
            contest in West Asia. India, mean-  through political and diplomatic   ships with the United States, Europe   balance of economic and political
            while, is pursuing strategic autonomy   means.  It  also  backed  Iran’s  rights   and other partners.  power continues to shift away from
            rather than aligning itself completely   under the global nuclear non-prolif-  The organization is also moving   the traditional centers of the West,
            with any major power center.      eration framework.                beyond traditional security concerns.   its voice is likely to become harder to
                The SCO provides an institution-  For India, the SCO’s growing im-  Its agenda now encompasses trade,   overlook. The Bishkek summit sug-
            al space for these countries to articu-  portance is particularly interesting.   supply chains, digital commerce, in-  gests that the SCO is moving steadily
            late positions that are often different   Prime Minister Narendra Modi used   formation security, terrorism, space   from being a regional organization
            from those coming from Washington   the summit to meet Iranian Presi-  security, economic governance and   to becoming one of the important
            and its Western allies. Its opposition   dent Masoud Pezeshkian and discuss   anticivilization dialogue. At the Bish-  forums through which the emerging
            to unilateral sanctions is particularly   bilateral trade, regional develop-  kek summit, members signed 27 ad-  world order is being negotiated.

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