External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is set to represent India at the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana next week. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has opted to skip the summit due to his scheduled visits to Russia and Austria. Prime Minister Modi is expected to visit Russia from July 8 to 9, marking his first trip to the country in nearly five years. Following his Russia visit, Modi is likely to travel to Austria on July 9 for a two-day trip. Although there has been no official confirmation yet, sources indicate that these planned visits influenced Modis decision to miss the SCO summit.SCO Summit AgendaThe SCO summit, scheduled for July 3 and 4, will focus on regional security, enhancing connectivity, and boosting trade among member countries. Key discussions will likely cover the situation in Afghanistan, the Ukraine conflict, and overall security cooperation within the SCO bloc.The Indian delegation at the SCO summit will be led by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal announced during his weekly media briefing on Friday. Generally, the Indian Prime Minister participates in the SCO summit, underscoring the importance of this event for Indias foreign policy.Indias Engagement with SCOIn a phone conversation on Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi assured Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Indias full support for the success of the summit. Kazakhstan, currently the chair of the SCO, is hosting this years summit. India, which chaired the SCO last year, hosted the summit in a virtual format in July.Historical Context and CooperationIndias association with the SCO began in 2005 as an observer country and it became a full member state at the Astana summit in 2017. Since then, India has actively sought to deepen its security-related cooperation within the SCO framework, particularly through the Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), which focuses on security and defense issues.The SCO was founded in 2001 at a summit in Shanghai by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan became permanent members in 2017, further expanding the organizations influence as a significant economic and security bloc.
