India Launches Official Website And Theme of SCO 2023

India Launches Official Website And Theme of SCO 2023: India, which will serve as the organization’s chairman in 2023 and host the following SCO summit, has just unveiled the official website of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The website highlights the events that will be undertaken under the chairmanship of India next year.

November 2022 Current Affairs Quiz

Theme Of The Event:

For an SECURE SCO is the event’s theme.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi had floated the concept of SECURE at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China in 2018. The prime minister defined the SECURE idea as ‘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.

About The SCO Presidency:

The SCO rotating presidency was handed over to India at Samarkand, Uzbekistan. India will serve as the group’s president from September 2022 until September 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin extended his good wishes to India for hosting the 23rd edition of the summit next year. Apart from Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping also congratulated India on assuming the presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) for 2023. “We will support India for its presidency next year,” Jinping stated at SCO Summit in Uzbekistan. Notably, India will take over the rotating annual chairmanship of the SCO, which is now held by Uzbekistan.

Significance of India’s Presidency:

Until September 2023, India would be the President of the SCO. This rotational presidency is significant for India for three major reasons.

1. First, from a regional perspective, amidst the tensions over the Sino-Indian border and politically unstable neighbourhood, being the first South Asian country host of SCO, how India would project itself would be significant for the region.
2. Second, from a geopolitical perspective, New Delhi could be seen renewing its policy towards Central Asia which also implies a change in understanding of the extended territorial neighbourhood. As a result, the upcoming presidency would have a big impact on New Delhi’s ability to reach out to countries in Central Asia.
3. Third, the SCO presidency is preceded by India’s non-permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council and would be followed by India hosting the G-20 summit. Thus, the tenure will reflect any continuity or change in New Delhi’s understanding of multilateralism and its behaviour in international and regional organisations.