With reference to ‘Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SC

The eight-member SCO was formed in 2001 by China and Russia with former Soviet central Asian states as members as a political and security group that seeks to counter western influence in Eurasia. India’s association with the SCO began in 2005 as an Observer country. India became a full Member State of SCO at the Astana Summit in 2017 The theme of India’s Presidency of SCO- SECURE is derived from the acronym given by Prime Minister Modi at the 2018 SCO Qingdao Summit. It stands for – S: Security, E: Economic development, C: Connectivity, U: Unity, R: Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and E: Environmental protection.