The State of Goa seems to be preferred as a neutral and hospitable destination for the purpose of hosting high profile events that ultimately shape international relations in the current geopolitical realm.
In November, 2005 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the “Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is working to establish a rational and just world order” and that “The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation provides us with a unique opportunity to take part in the process of forming a fundamentally new model of geopolitical integration”.
These statements from November, 2005 did not hold their worth as being made by the Russian Foreign Minister in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the 24th of February, 2022.
Even though the SCO is the successor to the Shanghai Five that was formed in 1996 between the People’s Republic of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan wherein its members including Russia had agreed to:
“Oppose intervention in other countries’ internal affairs on the reason of ‘humanitarianism’ and ‘protecting human rights;’ and support the efforts of one another in safeguarding the five countries’ national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and social stability.”
Russia seems to be doing the exact opposite of the multilateral agreement it had entered into at the Shanghai Five in the year 2000 when it went ahead and breached the sovereignty of Ukraine in 2022.
Sovereignty:
In International Law, sovereignty means that a government possesses full control over affairs within a territorial or geographical area or limit. Determining whether a specific entity is sovereign is not an exact science, but often a matter of diplomatic dispute.
The debate among realist, liberal interdependence, and critical theorists has rescued the concept of sovereignty from its abstract, arcane, and sterile treatment in the fields of international law and political philosophy and infused it with new meaning, theoretical significance, and practical relevance (Walker, 1988).
Sovereignty is now prominent in the International Relations research agenda.
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, international security and defence organization.
It is the world’s largest regional organization in terms of geographic scope and population, covering approximately 60% of the area of Eurasia, 40% of the world population.
The SCO is the successor to the Shanghai Five, formed in 1996 between the People’s Republic of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.
Subsequent annual summits of the Shanghai Five group occurred in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 1998, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in 1999, and in Dushanbe, Tajikistan in 2000.
At the Dushanbe summit, members agreed to “oppose intervention in other countries’ internal affairs on the reason of ‘humanitarianism’ and ‘protecting human rights;’ and support the efforts of one another in safeguarding the five countries’ national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and social stability.”
The Shanghai Five structure helped speed up the members’ resolution of border disputes, agree on military deployments in border areas, and address security threats.
On 15th June, 2001, the leaders of these nations and Uzbekistan met in Shanghai to announce a new organization with deeper political and economic cooperation;
Thereafter, on 15th June 2001, the Declaration of Shanghai Cooperation Organization, was signed and in June 2002 the heads of the SCO Member States signed the SCO Charter which expounded on the organization’s purposes, principles, structures and forms of operation, and established it in international law.
The SCO Charter was signed on 7th July 2002 and entered into force on 19th September 2003.
India at the SCO:
On 9th June, 2017, at the historic summit in Astana, India officially joined SCO as full-member.
Its membership has since expanded to eight states.
SCO Summit, 2023
Russia and India:
External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from China, Russia and Uzbekistan on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting at Benaulim, South Goa.
Jaishankar and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the SCO meeting in Goa.
Pakistan at the Summit:
Pakistan Foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari travelled to Goa on 4th May, 2022 to attend a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), in the first such high-level visit to India from Pakistan since 2011.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also said that Pakistan’s decision to attend the SCO foreign ministers’ meeting in India reflected its “commitment” to the SCO Charter and multilateralism.
Views of India’s EAM:
“We firmly believe there can be no justification for terrorism. It must be stopped in all its forms, including cross-border terror,” said Jaishankar at SCO foreign ministers’ meeting
“Taking our eyes off terrorism would be detrimental to our security interests. Channel of finances for terrorist activities must be seized and blocked without distinction,” he added.
