The SCO is not a military bloc nor is it aimed at any one country or group, said officials here, underlining that this week’s Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit that will bring together 15 regional “strongmen” leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Samarkand on Thursday. This will be the first such summit with Mr. Putin since the invasion in Ukraine, which has sparked sanctions by the U.S.-EU and their partners, and the first time Mr. Xi is stepping out for a multilateral conference since the COVID pandemic.
Both Russia and China came in for severe criticism on different issues at the G-7 Summit in June this year, and the optics of the SCO this year will be that of a counter to the western coalition: as all countries particularly targeted by the West — Russia, Iran, China, Belarus and Turkey — find common cause. In an opinion piece, the U.K.’s Sunday Times even dubbed the meet an “anti-West ‘dictators’ club’.”
When asked if India, as the next Chair of the SCO, which will host the summit in 2023, was worried by the label, India’s Ambassador to Uzbekistan Manish Prabhat said the perception was unfounded.
“India is very clear that the SCO is not an organisation which is against any other bloc of countries or any other country. The SCO is a venture for constructive cooperation and peace and stability in the world. There could be concerns of different countries on various kinds of issues, but the forum is there to talk about these issues,” he told journalists ahead of the summit.
“Samarkand Spirit”
Clearly aware of the optics, Uzbekistan President Shovkat Mirziyoyev wrote in an editorial article this week that the SCO’s non-bloc status was important. Referring to the Summit declaration that is being worked on, he said the “Samarkand Spirit” would launch a “new format” in a world where the present international system has begun to “falter”.
“The basis for the SCO’s international attractiveness is its non-bloc status, openness, non-targeting of third countries or international organisations, equality and respect for the sovereignty of all participants, refusal to interfere in internal affairs, as well as prevention of political confrontation and unhealthy rivalry,” Mr. Mirziyoyev wrote. The stipulation of “non-interference” in internal affairs will no doubt, strike a chord with the leaders of the SCO who are accused of human rights violations and domestic anti-democratic moves in the West
In particular, both Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi are likely to use the presence of the record number of 15 leaders coming to the conference as evidence that they have not been “isolated” on the world stage, despite the West slamming their actions in Ukraine and Taiwan Strait respectively. The leaders of the new entrant to the grouping, Iran’s President Raisi and the next contender for membership, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko, both countries under sanctions from the U.S., are also expected to discuss the “unilateral” coercive measures they face the brunt of, and any language on sanctions in the final communique will be significant.. Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif will pitch for support and aid to manage the damage from floods, that Pakistan has laid at the developed world’s door as the impact on climate change. India will look closely at the Samarkand declaration for language on terrorism, and the listing of terror groups such as the LeT and the JeM that target India, as well as the mention of connectivity initiatives involving the Chabahar port which Mr. Modi is expected to push during his address.
Of particular interest will be which leaders find time for each other for pull-aside meetings on the sidelines of the SCO summit. As a result, the SCO meeting’s outcomes on Friday will be watched as closely for the photo-op of the leaders that stand shoulder to shoulder and for the bilateral meetings on the sidelines, as it will for the content of the Samarkand declaration.
