The Defence Ministers of the member nations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will meet in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, from April 1- 3.
During the meeting, discussions are expected to focus on military and technical cooperation between the SCO member nations. The meeting will be followed by an anti-terrorism exercise scheduled to be held in China later this year.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is an intergovernmental organisation, founded in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
India is currently an observer of this six member organisation, along with Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mongolia and Iran. India is keen to become a full member in order to develop its interests in the energy rich Central Asian region and work towards a multilateral effort for the stability of Afghanistan post the withdrawal of international forces in 2014. India’s inclusion as a full member of the SCO is backed by Russia and the Central Asian countries. However, it remains a multi-lateral forum dominated by China and hence India’s prospects for a full membership are fairly dim.