Indian Council of World Affairs

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Study Centre was established in the Indian Council of World Affairs in July 2021. Hon’ble Vice President of India, who is also the ex-officio President of the ICWA, in his address to the 19th Meeting of the ICWA Governing Council on 3 July 2021, stated that the decision would give an impetus to ICWA’s work related to this multilateral forum.

The SCO Study Centre seeks to promote dialogue on issues of interest to India in SCO in particular and the SCO area in general. The Centre provides a platform for conversations on SCO and promotes understanding of its goals and objectives. The Centre also publishes research papers on themes relevant to the Organization.

ICWA was engaged in SCO-related activities even prior to the establishment of the SCO Study Centre. In 2018, the Ministry of External Affairs of India nominated ICWA as the nodal think tank from India to the SCO Forum, which is a multilateral track II expert mechanism established to support research work in SCO.

So far, ICWA has represented India in five annual SCO Forum meetings since 2018. The last Forum meeting was hosted by Russia in May 2022. Some of the recent activities by ICWA and the SCO Study Centre are mentioned below:

• Participation in the XVII SCO Forum meeting hosted by Russia online, May 2022.
• In October 2021, an online conference on ‘SCO & India: The Trajectory Ahead’ was held. It was addressed by SCO Secretary General Ambassador Vladimir Norov.
• Webinar on ‘India-SCO Engagement: The Next Steps’ held in September 2020, which was addressed by SCO Secretary General Ambassador Vladimir Norov. Apart from experts, Indian Missions in SCO countries participated in the consultations.
• Lecture by SCO Secretary General Ambassador Vladimir Norov on ‘The Future Trajectory of the SCO and India’s Role’ at the Council in January 2020.

The SCO Study Centre participates/nominates experts from India to events organized by SCO Member States and Observers.

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