SCO Foreign Ministers meet in India to discuss matters of regional security

Asia-Pacific, News May 7, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Top diplomats from the eight Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries came together in Goa, India, for a two-day meeting on May 4 and 5, 2023, to discuss matters of regional security.

SCO is a political and security organization that aims to counterweight Western influence in the Eurasian region. Formed in 2001 by Russia, China, and ex-Soviet Central Asian states, the SCO has expanded over the years to include India and Pakistan. Iran and Belarus are only a few steps away from joining the organization, while Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Oman, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and several other countries are observing members of the SCO.

The recent meeting between the SCO foreign ministers set the stage for the SCO Leaders’ Summit 2023. China’s President Xi Jinping and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin are also expected to participate in the SCO Leaders’ Summit later this year. The summit would be held in New Delhi, in July this year under the theme of ‘SECURE-SCO’.

India’s foreign ministry released a statement saying that “the ongoing engagement with SCO has helped India promote its relations with the countries in the region with which India has shared civilizational linkages, and is considered India’s extended neighborhood.”

#WATCH | EAM Dr S Jaishankar welcomes Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang for the Meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers in Goa pic.twitter.com/mOfx8dRlat
— ANI (@ANI) May 5, 2023

India on a diplomatic tightrope

India, which hosts the G20 and SCO summits this year, is trying to maintain diplomatic balance on the Eastern and Western fronts. Indian administration had been under severe criticism from the West for growing energy trade with Russia despite Western sanctions.

While talking about his bilateral meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said that the meeting went for a “comprehensive review” of “bilateral, global and multilateral cooperation.”

On the sidelines of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting in Goa, the Russian foreign minister held separate meetings with the foreign ministers of China and Pakistan and discussed bilateral and regional issues.

📆 Sergey #Lavrov attended the meeting of the #SCO Foreign Ministers Council, held in Panaji, state of Goa, India, on May 4 and 5.

The Foreign Ministers discussed the agenda for the upcoming meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council.

🔗 https://t.co/iswo01eFsI pic.twitter.com/HAeJc0Y0Io
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) May 5, 2023

China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang also held one-on-one bilateral meetings with their Indian host and counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on the sidelines of the summit. India’s relations with China have also been deteriorating since 2020 after deadly border clashes between the two regional powers.

While talking about his meeting with the Chinese counterpart, Jaishankar said he had a “detailed discussion” with Qin on Indian-Chinese relations. “Focus remains on resolving outstanding issues and ensuring peace and tranquility in the border areas.”

In a rare official visit to the rival neighboring county, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari arrived in India on May 4, 2023. This was the first time in the last 12 years that a Pakistani foreign minister visited India. Relations between India and Pakistan continue to strain on several issues, including cross-border terrorism and territorial claims for Jammu and Kashmir.

^{Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari with Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar during the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting in Goa, India. (Image Credit: Special Arrangement/via Twitter)}

Without naming India, the Pakistani foreign minister warned the SCO member states against “weaponizing terrorism for diplomatic point scoring”. Relations between the two rival states hit a new low after August 2019, when India scrapped the longstanding special status of Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in Islamabad downgrading its diplomatic ties with New Delhi.