Rajnath Singh to participate in SCO Defense Minister’s meeting in China

Context

• In his first such visit since Operation Sindoor, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will travel to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Defence Ministers’ meet in Qingdao from June 25 to 27. Pakistan Defence Minister Khwaja Asif too will attend the meet.

• The visit comes as India and China take steps to restore ties, including the resumption of trade and travel links as well as dialogue mechanisms.

• In addition, the Indian pilgrims bound for Kailash-Mansarovar — the first batch to undertake the trip since the 2020 military stand-off and Galwan killings – are also expected to reach their destination at the same time as Mr. Singh’s visit to Qingdao.

• The steps are part of the “normalisation” process agreed to by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting in Kazan in October 2024, after a tense four-year military stand-off on the Line of Actual Control

• Both leaders are expected to attend the BRICS summit in Brazil from July 6 to 7,

Shanghai Cooperation Organization

• SCO stands for “Shanghai Cooperation Organization”. It is an intergovernmental political, economic, and security alliance founded in 2001 by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.

• The first summit was held in Shanghai, China, in 2001.

• The SCO aims to promote cooperation and mutual support in areas such as trade, investment, energy, transportation, and security.

• The Shanghai Spirit is the core value of the SCO. It is about mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for cultural diversity, and the pursuit of common development among the SCO members.

• The official working language of the SCO Secretariat is Russian and Chinese.

• 1996: ‘Shanghai Five’ established by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.

• 2001:After adding Uzbekistan in 2001, the Shanghai Five was renamed the SCO.

• 2017:At Astana, India and Pakistan officially joined SCO as full members.

• 10 Member States, namely India, Kazakhstan,China, Kyrgyztan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, Iran and Belarus (latest member)

• HQ - Beijing, China

• The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) is responsible for coordinating efforts among member countries to combat terrorism, separatism, and extremism.

• RATS is headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

BRICS

• BRICS is an intergovernmental informal grouping of 10 emerging economies of the world.

• BRICS stands for the original founding members, Brazil, Russia, India, and China meting in 2009, with South Africa joining in 2010.

• In 2024, Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Ethiopia also became its members.

• Saudi Arabia is yet to formalise its BRICS membership.

• Argentina was initially expected to join the group in 2024 but later decided against it.

• Indonesia has officially joined the BRICS group as the 10th member, effective from January 2025.

• The first BRIC Summit was held in Russia in 2009.