23rd SCO Summit ? Key Outcomes

23rd SCO Summit – Key Outcomes

News: Recently, India hosted the 23rd Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State in the virtual format.

Key Outcomes:
• Iran was inducted to the SCO grouping. It became the 9th member.
• India has once again refused to endorse China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) scheme which envisions rebuilding the old Silk Road to connect China with Asia, Europe and beyond with large infrastructure spending. India was the only country in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) not to support the project.
• India has also stayed out of a joint statement on SCO Economic Development Strategy 2030, indicating a lack of consensus in the grouping.
• PM Modi called out some countries that use cross-border terrorism as key instrument to fulfill their policies. PM Modi urged that SCO should not hesitate to criticize such nations because there can be no place for double standards on such serious matters.
• Delhi Declaration – Key outcome of the summit. The declaration proposes five joint statements – i) fight against terrorism ii) de-radicalisation iii) sustainable lifestyle to tackle climate change iv) production of millets and digital transformation. The declaration also listed a number of global challenges, including new and emerging conflicts, turbulence in the markets, supply chain instability, climate change and the COVID19 pandemic.

What is the importance of SCO for India? 

Source – Indian Express