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Thursday March 28, 2024

Full SCO membership to do Pakistan a world of good

By Sabir Shah
May 27, 2016

Greater access to resources and energy import projects to be available; country’s position in region and world to be strengthened; will have a positive impact on military and technical cooperation between Russia and Pakistan and huge communication projects with China

LAHORE: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) – a Eurasian political, economic and military organization – is all set to welcome Pakistan and India as its full-fledged members next month when Uzbekistan chairs the forthcoming SCO Summit in Tashkent between June 23 and 24 or less than a month from now.

Meanwhile, Iran looks to be the next candidate in line for the full ECO membership.

The SCO history and membership:

At present, the full members of SCO are China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, with Afghanistan, Belarus, Mongolia, Iran, Pakistan and India enjoying the observer status.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was founded in 2001 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, founded on April 26, 1996; after the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed the organization.

The Shanghai Five grouping was created with the signing of the “Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions” in Shanghai.

On April 24, 1997, the same countries had signed the “Treaty on Reduction of Military Forces in Border Regions” in a meeting in Moscow.

On July 10, 2015, the SCO had decided to admit Pakistan and India as full members, and now they are expected to formally join this forum next month or June 2016.

It is imperative to note that the six full ECO members account for 60 per cent of the land mass of Eurasia and are home to a quarter of the world's population. With observer states included, its affiliates account for about half of the world's population.

Pakistan and SCO: 

During a joint summit with China in 2006, the then president Gen Pervez Musharraf had argued in favour of Pakistan's qualification to join the organization as a full member.

Russia had publicly endorsed Pakistan's bid to get full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as the then prime minister Vladimir Putin had made this announcement in response to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani's address at the SCO meeting at the Constantine Palace outside St Petersburg (Russia) on November 6, 2011.

China had said that it would convey Pakistan's desire to all SCO member states. In turn, Gen Musharraf was formally invited to the sixth summit of the SCO to take place in Shanghai.

On November 7, 2011, Russia, for the first time, publicly endorsed Pakistan’s bid to get full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

At the SCO Summit in 2014, China had also expressed support for Pakistan's application for full membership. Pakistan had applied for membership in 2006 and the same was approved in July 2015.

The process of granting Pakistan full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization finally got under way in Ufa (Russia) during incumbent Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit of July 2015.

Accession of India and Pakistan to SCO:

Russian presidential envoy for SCO Bakhtiyer Khakimov has said: “The inclusion of the two nuclear neighbours as full-fledged SCO members does not envisage reforming the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, but will require adjusting cooperation mechanisms. There will be no SCO reform. However, the process of expanding (the organization) continues, and the prospects of accession of new members will require adjustment of cooperation mechanisms. The new members should be adapted, should be included in these structures. New details will emerge in the framework of the SCO secretariat and at sessions of the Council of National Coordinators. SCO’s role will grow significantly after India and Pakistan join the organization. Prospects are very promising.”

SCO’s official purposes:

The SCO’s official purposes are cooperation on political, economic, and military matters – though the latter two dominate. In the words of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the SCO has become a paradigm of global and regional cooperation with great vitality and significant influence, and serves as a model of efficient cooperation by paying equal attention simultaneously to economic development and security cooperation.

Possible benefits for Pakistan:

The permanent SCO membership for Pakistan will ensure greater access to resources and energy import projects within the grouping’s framework.

A Western media house had opined: “Pakistan would not have to wait for long, just the start of the membership process will give it a trump card in dialogue with traditional donors, particularly the US, who always tries to use its economic support as a pressure tactic.”

Another media outlet had asserted: “Pakistan’s membership of the SCO will significantly strengthen the country’s position in the region and the world over and will have a positive impact on several major issues pertaining to military and technical cooperation between Russia and Pakistan and on huge communication projects with China. With plans under way to connect the Silk Road Economic Belt with the Eurasian Economic Union, the role of Pakistan in regional economy and infrastructure projects will definitely increase because the Kashgar-Gwadar project between Islamabad and Beijing is part of the Silk Road belt.”

Chinese leaders are optimistic that the membership of Pakistan and India will help build bridges, but the fact that the two estranged nations are nearly always at loggerheads over security issues – a major piece of what the SCO tackles – makes it seem a fantasy. The Indian and Pakistani troops, for example, participating together in a joint SCO military exercise, would be quite a landmark event.

According to many political pundits, joining ECO as a full member will provide Pakistan an opportunity to play its cards strongly with conventional development partners like the United States and multilateral donors including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank. There is a common perception that the US uses these multilateral forums for political gains globally.

The August 2015 edition of ISPR’s Hilal magazine had noted: “Indeed, it is an impressive diplomatic-cum-substantial breakthrough for Islamabad. The full membership of the SCO not only advances Pakistan’s positive image internationally, but also be having tangible political, security and economic dividends. Importantly, the SCO was expanded for the first time in Ufa since its creation in 2001.

President Vladimir Putin, President of Russian Federation, opened the annual SCO summit by announcing the acceptance of Pakistan and India as members. He also declared that Belarus would obtain observer status, joining Afghanistan, Iran and Mongolia, while Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia and Nepal would be welcomed as “dialogue partners”. The expansion of SCO is an outcome of President Putin’s endeavour to integrate the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) to enhance the scope of economic outreach of SCO member-states.”

The magazine had held: “Pakistan has the potential to become a gateway to the landlocked Central Asian Republics (CARs) with historical and cultural links spanning over centuries. Anything disturbing in this region would undermine Pakistan’s future economic opportunities. For instance, the Russian Federation, China and Central Asian States could seek a link-up with Gwadar via the north-south trade/energy corridor. Similarly, the recently-announced China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) creates economic opportunities for both Pakistan and SCO members. The CPEC would bridge the gap between the continents. Once the CPEC starts functioning, it will connect China, Pakistan, Central Asia, Caucasus and Russia.”

The ISPR publication had maintained:

“The full permanent membership of the SCO is a promising development for Pakistan. It has dramatically improved the political atmosphere of Islamabad’s relations with its regional neighbours and partners. For understanding the true Shanghai spirit one needs to familiarize with the SCO’s primary objective and operational apparatus.

The declared objectives of the SCO are to strengthen mutual trust, friendship and good-neighbourly relations among the member states; encouraging effective cooperation among them in politics, trade and economy, science and technology, culture, education, energy, transportation, ecology and other areas; joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region, to create a new democratic, just and rational political and economic international order. Nevertheless, the prime focus of the SCO has been on terrorism, separatism and extremism. The SCO completed its 14 years of existence in 2015. Since its formation, every year, it brings together heads of states to discuss regional security issues and inter-regional cooperation, to determine strategies and goals to promote development. Though it refrained from enrolling a new full member of the organization until 2014, yet it was systematically engaging the neighbouring countries through various means such as, official observer, contact groups, dialogue partners to pursue its objective.”

The Hilal magazine had also stated:

“The driving philosophy of the SCO is the so-called “Shanghai Spirit”, which emphasises harmony, working via consensus, respect for other cultures, non-interference in others’ internal affairs, and nonalignment. These five principals of coexistence, certainly, minimize enmity and encourage amity among the regional political entities. Furthermore, the SCO operates on a consensus basis, which facilitates the member states to harmonise their policies by rising above their bilateral differences. It also provides a forum to the belligerent neighbours to deliberate on their conflicting issues during the sideline leaders’ meetings.”