Page 16 - The Indian EYE 091126

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.

www.TheIndianEYE.com