The SCO summit: New Challenges

At its annual summit in Tashkent, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) announced India and Pakistan are now full members of the security grouping. This was the first time the organization admitted new members. On June 14-15 this year, all SCO members are set to meet again at its 19th Summit of Heads of State in the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek.

This time around however, the upcoming SCO summit is faced with a unique set of challenges. When the decision to make India and Pakistan full members of the SCO was first revealed, including two nuclear states in the forum that have already fought three wars against each other was argued to be a huge security risk. The incentive behind the decision was clear: if both India and Pakistan are part of the forum the SCO could provide a platform to settle future disputes or conflicts. China’s relationship with Pakistan and Russia’s with India was cited as one of great significance in any attempts by the organization to reduce tensions in the troubled India-Pakistan dynamic.

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