19th meeting of Secretaries of the Security Councils of SCO

• The 19th annual meeting of the secretaries of the security councils of the SCO member states was held in Astana, Kazakhstan, from 2 to 3 April 2024.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS:

• The President of Kazakhstan ‘Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’, is the current Chairman of Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
• Addressing the meeting, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev advocated adopting a Cooperation Programme to counter terrorism, separatism, and extremism for 2025-2027 and the SCO Anti-Drug Strategy for 2024-2029.
• He mentioned that countering “three evil forces” – terrorism, separatism and extremism – along with transnational organised crime, drug trafficking and cybersecurity challenges remain priorities during Kazakhstan’s chairmanship in the SCO.

INDIA AT THE MEETING

• The Indian National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval led the Indian delegation at the meeting of the Secretaries of the Security Councils of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
• The Indian government has invested $3 Billion in Afghanistan and supplied 50,000 MT of wheat, 250 Tons of medical aid, and 40,000 litres of Malathion pesticide to fight the locust menace in Afghanistan.
• However, the government of India does not recognize the present Taliban government in
• NSA Ajit Doval strongly condemned the terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall in Moscow, Russia, on March 22, which killed 144 people.

ABOUT SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANISATION

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was established as a regional organisation on June 15, 2001. It replaced the Shanghai Five organisation. The founding members of the SCO were China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
• Member of SCO: The SCO has two types of members: permanent and observers.
• There are 9 permanent members- China, Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, India (Joined in 2017), Pakistan (Joined in 2017) and Iran (Joined in 2023).
• Observer Members (3) – Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia.
• Headquarters: Beijing, China
• Current Chairman of SCO: Kazakhstan