... Beijing’s widely publicized foreign policy slogan of building a “community of common destiny,” which for the time being remains rather vague and lacking in real content. The Qingdao Declaration drew particular attention to this fact.
Russia and other SCO states (with the exception of India, a fact also reflected in the meeting’s final document) generally support the One Belt One Road concept, while actively advocating its involvement with other economic projects in the region. The signing of an agreement on economic cooperation ...
... and various scenarios for the further development of the SCO to be implemented. However, the expansion of the organization that followed two years later changed its prospects significantly, narrowing the once-ample scope of opportunities. By embracing India and Pakistan, the SCO passed an important point of no return in its institutional development.
It is not about the expansion per se. Had the SCO accepted Mongolia, Turkmenistan and Belarus – or even Vietnam or a post-UN sanctions North Korea – as full members, for ...
... lesser degree of China. In particularly, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor raises Indian hackles.
Ernesto Gallo, Giovanni Biava:
One Belt, One Road, and Seven (Not So) Giants…
P. Stobdan, of the officially financed Indian IDSA,
wrote
that “India joining the SCO has largely a symbolic meaning.” He adds that “there is lack of clarity about what it means for India in terms of any specific function and benefits.”
China agreed to let India (and Pakistan) join the SCO because China itself now largely sees ...
... the Indian economy is slated to surpass that of Japan in size by 2030 according to some projections — should be a much more integral part of Russia’s Asian strategy.
The belief in some Russian quarters that Pakistan can be a participant in major SCO or BRICS infrastructure and other projects within the framework of the India-Russia strategic relationship is unlikely to find a positive echo in Indian thinking, given India’s seven decades of experience with Pakistan’s endemic hostility. Russia’s evolving optic on Pakistan is creating a gap in the hitherto strong ...
... global food consumption, the exacerbation of the problem of chemical fertilizers, the dwindling fresh water reserves and the necessity to disinfect products. All these topics are parts of the new paradigm of strategic partner relations between Russia and India. The SCO and BRICS frameworks are large enough to attract China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and other countries in the Indo-Pacific region to Russia–India bilateral relations in these large-scale projects.
In Russia, the task of building a digital economy ...
... Axis, despite its privileged defence spending related relations with India. The Indo-U.S. partnership includes technology transfers, co-production and establishment of a bilateral defense Procurement and Production Group must have raised eyebrows in Moscow. India is a big market for Russian arms export and seeing this market going into their arch rival side will further strain bilateral relations.As far as Pakistan is concerned, the Indo-U.S. strategic partnership is a recipe for regional instability. Indo-U....
... with the inclusion of India. Iranian membership could see their voices diminished further given the country’s tendency to align with Russia on many issues.
India’s inclusion may also signal a simultaneous loss of Chinese interest in the SCO. Worried that India will serve as a counterweight to its influence in the organization, Beijing may have dropped its opposition to India’s membership because realized it can better carry out its plans for the Silk Road Economic Belt through bilateral means. This ...
... the status of full SCO member states in the near future will boost the organization’s potential and provide a fresh impetus to further securing its role on the regional and international arena.
The
signing
of the Memorandum on the Obligations of India and Pakistan for becoming SCO member states was a landmark event that took place in Tashkent (link in Russian). The final phase of their accession to the organization was thus launched. It also reaffirmed the positive dynamics of the SCO’s development achieved at previous summits,...
... free of UN sanctions. Last year Tehran shed the burden literally one month after the Ufa summit and now fits all membership criteria. Hence, the member states have obtained every legal ground for processing Iran's application in compliance with the SCO norms. Besides, after the Ufa summit, India and Pakistan have prepared their memorandums of obligations for acquiring membership in close contact with representatives of the founding states. Iran may enter into negotiations only after the Council of Heads of Member States decides on launching ...
... the SCO.
At the meeting between the foreign ministers of Russia and India in October 2014, a proposal was made to support India's bid for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. What are the prospects for India's membership in the SCO? What are India's main interests in this organization?
As you know, the SCO was first established as the Shanghai Five with the aim of creating confidence-building measures within the region up to the borders of China's northern neighbors, as well as China itself....