SCO Summit 2021: PM Modi to attend virtually on September 17, Afghanistan key focus - Know all details here

SCO Summit 2021: The 21^st meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State will be held on September 17, 2021, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan in a hybrid format. The President of Tajikistan H E Emomali Rahmon will chair the SCO Summit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the Indian delegation and address the plenary session of the Summit virtually. External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will represent India in Dushanbe at the SCO Summit 2021.

This will be the first SCO Summit that will be conducted in a hybrid mode and the 4^th Summit that India will participate as a full-fledged member of the SCO. The SCO Foreign Ministers met on July 14, 2021, and the SCO Defence Ministers met on July 27-28, 2021 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

Also read: SCO Defence Ministers Meeting: India has completed 500 projects in Afghanistan, says Rajnath Singh

SCO Summit 2021: Significance and Agenda

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2021 holds significance as the Organization will be celebrating its 20^th anniversary this year. The Summit is also important as it is being held at a time of the Taliban take over Afghanistan.

The leaders are expected to review the activities of SCO over the past two decades and discuss the state and prospects of future cooperation. Issues relating to regional and international importance will be covered during the Summit.

Who will attend SCO Summit 2021?

The SCO Summit will be attended by the leaders of the SCO Member States, Observer States, Secretary-General of the SCO, Executive Director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), President of Turkmenistan, and other invited guests.

The current eight Members States of SCO are India, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan. The Observer States status has been given to Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia. The Dialogue Partner status has been given to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Turkey.

The current SCO Secretary-General of SCO is Vladimir Norov of Uzbekistan. The Executive Director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure is Jumakhon Giyosov of Tajikistan.

ASEAN, CIS, UN are multiple organizations and Turkmenistan is one country that are guest attendees to SCO Summits.

What is SCO Council of Heads of State?

The Council of Heads of State is the supreme SCO body that determines priorities and defines major areas of activities of the SCO. The Council decides on the fundamental issues of its internal arrangement and functioning and its interaction with other States and internal organizations. The Council deliberates on the most topical international issues.

The Summits of the SCO Council of Heads of State is held annually at alternating venues. The SCO Summit 2020 was chaired by Russia through a video conference amid COVID-19. The SCO Summit 2019 was chaired by Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek.

The Council of Foreign Ministers is supposed to meet one month before the annual Summit of the Council of Heads of State. The SCO Foreign Ministers met in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on July 14, 2021. The Council decides the place of meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Governments (Prime Ministers). The Council of Heads of State also appoints the Secretary-General of the SCO and Executive Director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS).

Also read: Union Cabinet approves SCO Agreement on Mass Media cooperation