Table of Contents
ACTIVITIES
• Cooperation on security
•The SCO is primarily cantered on its member nations’ Central Asian security-related concerns, often describing the main threats it confronts as being terrorism, separatism and extremism.
RATS
At 16–17 June 2004 SCO summit, held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the Regional Antiterrorism Structure
(RATS) was established.
On 21 April 2006, the SCO announced plans to fight cross-border drug crimes under the counter terrorism rubric.
NO PLANS TO BECOME A MILITARY BLOC
Russia claimed in April 2006 that the SCO has no plans to become a military bloc.
The Diplomat reported in 2017 that SCO has foiled 600 terror plots and extradited 500
terrorists through RATS.
NOTES
• On 16 June 2009, at the Yekaterinburg Summit, China announced plans to provide a US$10 billion loan to SCO member states to shore up the struggling economies of its
members amid the global financial crisis.
• The summit was held together with the first BRIC summit, and the China-Russia joint statement said that they want a bigger quota in the International Monetary Fund.
NATURAL RESOURCES IN CENTRAL ASIA
• Uzbekistan has a major gas field at Gazli in the Kyzylkum Desert southeast of the Aral Sea and oil fields in the southeastern part of the country.
•Reserves of uranium ore are found in Asia’s ancient crystalline rocks. The richest ore fields are found in Kyrgyzstan, between Osh and Tuya Muyun.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED
Qingdao declaration In the joint Qingdao Declaration of the Council of
Heads of State of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, India was the only member in the
eight-nation bloc to refuse to endorse Chinese president Xi Jinping’s pet One Belt, One Road
(OBOR) project.
COMBAT TERRORISM, SEPARATISM AND EXTREMISM
SCO participating leaders also adopted total of 17 documents at the summit, which particularly include documents endorsing 2018-2022 Action Plan to implement Treaty for Long-term Good-Neighborly Relations, Friendship and Cooperation between SCO states and 2019-2020 Program for Cooperation in countering terrorism, separatism and extremism.
OTHER ASPECTS
They also signed decision to approve 2018-2023 Anti-Drug Strategy and Action Plan to implement it. Besides, leaders of all SCO countries also signed an information statement.
SECURE:
S’ for security for citizens, ‘E’ for economic development, ‘C’ for connectivity in the region,
‘U’ for unity, ‘R’ for respect of sovereignty and integrity, and ‘E for environment protection.
WhatsApp