The 25th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government (CHG) was held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on 20 October 2026. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh represented India. The meeting adopted the SCO budget for 2027 and the Action Plan for the Programme of Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation (PMTEC) for 2026–2030.
India’s message, in one line: “There can be no justification for terrorism, no double standards in addressing it.” India also said connectivity must respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, and named the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and Chabahar Port as routes linking Central Asia to wider markets.
Exam concepts
Origin: The SCO grew out of the “Shanghai Five” (China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan), formed after border confidence-building agreements of 1996 and 1997. Uzbekistan joined, and the SCO was founded in Shanghai on 15 June 2001.
SCO Charter: Signed at St Petersburg on 7 June 2002. It came into force on 19 September 2003. The Agreement on the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure was signed the same day.
Member states (10):
- Founders (2001): China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
- India and Pakistan: 2017 (Astana Summit)
- Iran: 2023
- Belarus: 2024 (Astana Summit), the 10th member
Observers (2): Afghanistan and Mongolia.
Dialogue partners (15): Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cambodia, Egypt, Kuwait, Laos, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Türkiye and the UAE. At the Tianjin Summit (2025), the SCO decided to merge the observer and dialogue partner categories into one “SCO Partner” status. The current countries keep their old status until the SCO’s legal documents are amended.
Permanent bodies (2):
- Secretariat in Beijing
- Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), with its Executive Committee in Tashkent
Official languages: Russian and Chinese.
Two top councils:
- Council of Heads of State: the annual summit and the highest decision-making body.
- Council of Heads of Government: handles economic and practical cooperation and approves the SCO budget.
India’s chairmanship: India took over the rotating chairmanship at Samarkand in September 2022. Its first-ever chairmanship ended with a virtual summit of the Council of Heads of State on 4 July 2023, under the theme “Towards a SECURE SCO”. That summit adopted the New Delhi Declaration.
“Shanghai Spirit”: the SCO’s principles of mutual trust, equality, non-interference and respect for sovereignty. The SCO says it is not a military alliance.
INSTC and Chabahar: INSTC is a multimodal route linking India, Iran, Central Asia and Russia. Chabahar Port in Iran gives India access to Afghanistan and Central Asia without passing through Pakistan.
Why it can be asked
SCO structure, members and permanent bodies are regular Prelims questions. India’s positions on terrorism and connectivity are GS-2 Mains themes.
Key facts for quick revision
- 25th SCO CHG: Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 20 October 2026. India was represented by Rajnath Singh.
- Adopted: Joint Communiqué, SCO budget for 2027, PMTEC Action Plan 2026–2030.
- The Bishkek Summit (2026) made the Universal Centre (Tashkent) and the Anti-Drug Centre (Dushanbe) permanent SCO bodies.
- India will host the first SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum later in 2026.
- Founded 2001 in Shanghai. Charter 2002. 10 members. Secretariat in Beijing, RATS in Tashkent.
- India became a full member in 2017 and held the chairmanship in 2023.
