‘Regional Cooperation in the Eurasian Region: Role of the SCO’

SCO’s success hinges on settling bilateral issues with regional solutions: IPS roundtable

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has the potential to create synergy and offers a viable alternative to SAARC, provided the regional problems are solved regionally. Unless the bilateral equations are settled and cohesion is maintained between member states, the future contours of SCO would remain undefined.

This was observed during a roundtable discussion titled ‘Regional Cooperation in the Eurasian Region: Role of the SCO’ held at IPS on July 20, 2023. The forum analyzed the significance of the SCO as a vital platform for fostering regional stability, economic development, and connectivity in the Eurasian region, with a particular focus on Pakistan, and evaluated the outcomes of the SCO Summit hosted by India on July 4.

The roundtable was addressed by Ambassador (r) Masood Khalid, Pakistan’s former ambassador to China, Dr. Sarwat Rauf, associate professor, NUML, Ambassador (r) Abdul Basit, Pakistan’s former high commissioner to India, Ambassador (r) Syed Abrar Hussain, vice chairman, IPS, Meher Kashif Younis, veteran industrialist and former senior vice president Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Dr. Faisal Javed, assistant professor, FUUAST, Karachi, and Prof Dr. Fakhr-ul-Islam, director research and academic outreach, IPS.

Underscoring the potential of the SCO, Ambassador Masood said that the organization has gained strength as compared to SAARC and ECO. The expansion of the SCO after inclusion of Iran along with the geographical spread of dialogue partners and observer states rooting for multipolarity instead of pledging to US-led Western domination has added a new dynamic to the evolving regional architecture of the SCO.

Despite having disputes, member states are keen to promote economic cooperation, linkages, trade, and access to the outside world. The security, development, and connectivity-driven regional architecture of the SCO provides Pakistan with an opportunity to engage proactively while aiming to become economically strong.

Dr. Sarwat maintained that despite India misusing the SCO platform for blame game, Pakistan would remain in focus as a geostrategic location and trade hub. To Pakistan, the SCO may present a solution to the economic meltdown and security conundrum, provided embedded historical problems are resolved. In this regard, Pakistan needs to enhance multilateral diplomacy efforts and mend the Afghan Taliban supportive image that it still carries, she recommended.

While the SCO has potential, its realization demands the resolution of bilateral disputes and other inherent discrepancies that may impediment its growth, observed Ambassador Abdul Basit. For instance, the hardened stances of states like India, its reservations about the Belt and Road Initiative, the differences of opinion and mistrust, and bilateral disputes might remain there for years to come. Unless the bilateral equations are settled, the future contours of the SCO would remain undefined, he said.

Meher Younis stated that the SCO incorporates 46% of the global population and is the biggest consumer market, with a huge younger generation and land mass. To gain benefits from these factors, Pakistan must pay attention to development-oriented engagement, people-to-people interaction, cultural diplomacy, economic diplomacy, agricultural diplomacy, natural resources diplomacy, joint research, and technological and academic interactions.

These prospects are further multiplied by the expansion of the SCO, said Dr Faisal Javed. However, maintaining cohesion is crucial for greater influence and realization of these potentials.

Earlier, Ambassador Abrar elaborated that under the New Delhi Declaration of the SCO Summit, member states are intended to strengthen political, security, and economic cooperation and confront threats from terrorism, extremism, and separatism. While this includes moving towards a democratic international political order, political resolutions to international and regional conflicts to establish a solid security shield in the region is crucial.

In his concluding remarks, Dr Fakhr-ul-Islam stated that the significance of the SCO cannot be overlooked, but the potential challenges and diverging interests of member states should be worked on to increase the overall efficacy of the organization.