18 March 2023

Table of Contents

What is SCO and Their Recent Tourism Conference in Varanasi

GS-2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

During the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) tourism ministers  conference held in Varanasi on March 17, India proposed an action plan to designate 2023 as the year of tourism development in the SCO region. India will assume the chairmanship of SCO in 2023.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was established on June 15, 2001, as an intergovernmental organization based in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

• These countries, except for Uzbekistan, had been members of the Shanghai Five group, formed on 26 April 1996 with the signing of the Treaty on Deepening Military Trustin Border Regions.
• In 2001, during the annual summit in Shanghai, the five-member nations first admitted Uzbekistan in the Shanghai Five mechanism (thus transforming it into the Shanghai Six).
• Thereafter, on 15 June 2001 the Declaration of SCO, was signed and in June 2002 the heads of the SCO Member States signed the SCO Charter which expounded on the organization’s purposes, principles, structures and forms of operation, and established it in international law.

• At the July 2005 Astana Summit, India was granted Observer status. In July 2015 in Ufa, Russia, the SCO decided to admit India as full member.

• India signed the memorandum of obligation in June 2016 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, thereby starting the formal process of joining the SCO as full member. 
• On 9 June 2017, at the historic summit in Astana, India officially joined SCO as full- member along with Pakistan.             

• At present, it comprises eight Member States, including China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, and four Observer States - Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia, who are interested in becoming full members. 

• In 2021at the Dushanbe Summit, Iran began the process of accession to the SCO as a full member, while Egypt, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia joined as "Dialogue Partners".
• Maldives, Bahrain, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Myanmar were inducted as Dialogue Partners in 2022 at the Samarkand Summit.

• The SCO has primarily focused on regional security issues, including combatting terrorism, ethnic separatism, and religious extremism since its inception in 2001. However, it has also prioritized regional development in recent years. 
• The SCO has been an observer at the UN General Assembly since 2005, and the UN and SCO Secretariats signed a Joint Declaration on Cooperation in 2010.

Structure of SCO

• SCO has two Permanent Bodies–

1. SCO Secretariat in Beijing and 
2. Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent. 

• The Chairmanship of SCO is by rotation for a year by Member States.
• The Council of Heads of States is the apex decision-making body in the SCO. 
• This Council meets at the SCO summits, which are held each year in one of the member states' capital cities. 
• The Council of Heads of Governments is the second-highest council in the organization.

The Secretariat of the SCO

• The Secretariat of the SCO is the primary executive body of the organization. 
• It serves to implement organizational decisions and decrees, documents (such as declarations and agendas), functions as a document depository for the organization, arranges specific activities within the SCO framework, and promotes and disseminates information about the SCO. 
• It is located in Beijing. 
• Each Member State has a Permanent Representative to the SCO.

The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS)

• The RATS was established at the SCO Summit held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in 2004.
• The RATSis a permanent organ of the SCO which serves to promote cooperation of member states against terrorism, separatism and extremism.
• It enables SCO members to exchange vital intelligence, legal expertise, and know-how, as well as facilitate the extradition of terrorists.
• It is headquartered in Uzbekistan Tashkent.
• Each member state also sends a permanent representative to RATS. 
• The SCO Secretary General and the Executive Director SCO RATS are appointed for a term of 3 years.

• The official working languages of the Shanghai Cooperation organization are Chinese and Russian.

The conference in Varanasi

• The recent conference aimed to enhance tourism in the SCO region.
• A joint action plan was formulated and approved to implement the agreement between the member states on cooperation in the tourism sector.
• The action plan includes various initiatives, such as promoting the SCO tourism brand, showcasing cultural heritage, sharing information and digital technologies in tourism, and collaborating in medical and health tourism.
• The member countries will conduct joint activities, including SCO tourism exhibitions, SCO Food Festivals, webinars and seminars on tourism, conferences, and expert sessions to promote tourism in the region.
• The conference also endorsed the Action Plan for the 'Year of Tourism Development in the SCO Space in 2023.'
• The plan includes a list of events and activities to showcase tourism products of SCO member states.
• Varanasi has been designated as the first tourism and cultural capital of SCO.

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