NSCS holds meeting with RATS-SCO

• India’s National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) held two joint meetings with the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (RATS-SCO) recently, focusing on restricting terrorism and extremism through the use of new technologies and the internet.

 ABOUT RATS

• The RATS is a permanent body under the SCO.
• It is headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
• It works on promoting cooperation of member states against terrorism, separatism, and extremism.

ABOUT SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANIZATION

• SCO originally known as the Shanghai Five, formed in 1996, by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.
• SCO was officially established in 2001 with joining of Uzbekistan as a regional intergovernmental organization.
• Member States- China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, Iran.
• The primary objective of the SCO is to foster regional cooperation on diverse matters, encompassing security, economics, and cultural exchanges.

SCO AND INDIA

• India held the 22^nd summit of the SCO virtually earlier this year.
• It was New Delhi’s first time chairing the forum since joining the organisation in 2005 as an observer state and later becoming a permanent member in 2017.
  • The Chairmanship of SCO is by rotation for a year between member states.
  • India handed over chairmanship to Kazakhstan in September.