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India deepening ties with SCO with focus on defense, security issues — expert

According to Mohammed Saqib, "the SCO’s expansion reflects China and Russia's effort to bolster the bloc as a counterweight to the Western-led world order"

BEIJING, July 16. /TASS/. India is working to boost ties with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), focusing on defense and security issues, Mohammed Saqib, secretary general of India China Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC), told TASS.

"India has been actively deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure, focusing on security and defense matters," the expert said, commenting on New Delhi’s participation in the organization’s activities following its expansion.

According to him, "the SCO’s expansion reflects China and Russia's effort to bolster the bloc as a counterweight to the Western-led world order." "I am glad that the SCO is not concerned about Western opinions," Saqib noted.

He specified that "with its expansion, the SCO has established itself as an important pillar of a fair, equitable, multipolar world order." However, the analyst added that "although the enlargement has raised the SCO's profile and visibility, it might dilute its regional relevance and Central Asian countries might focus on other bilateral or multilateral arrangements."

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was founded in the Chinese city of Shanghai on June 15, 2001, by six states: Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, and Uzbekistan. Pakistan and India joined the club in 2017, and Iran was granted membership in 2023. The SCO decided to provide membership to Belarus at a summit in the Kazakh capital of Astana on July 4.

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