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SCO to be fortified by India
Sep 24, 2010 17:19 Moscow Time
India has a good chance of becoming a permanent member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the near future. Scientists, who took part in the tripartite conference Russia India China in Moscow, believe that the organization will benefit from Indias membership. Well-known Russian orientalist Sergey Luzianin, deputy director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told us about the outcomes of the conference.
Sergey Luzianin told The Voice of Russia that the first tripartite conference of scientists from Russia, India and China took place in 2001 on Russias initiative. Later on, conferences were held annually, consecutively in each capital Moscow, Delhi and Beijing. The current meeting in Moscow is the tenth. Similar to the previous forums, its discussions, which are usually closed to the media, are informal talks. In other words, the experts conclusions can become the basis for the future diplomatic work and political decisions of the three countries.
One of the central topics of the current conference was accepting India as a permanent SCO member. The Shanghai Six Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kirgizia and Tajikistan can become Shanghai Seven. Sergey Luzianin believes, that it is not simple arithmetic but geopolitical higher mathematics, and explains: From the geopolitical viewpoint, the SCO lacks a strong partner in the South. The SCOs expansion southwards could help to peacefully surround Afghanistan, without interfering in its internal military and political affairs, and to render it economic assistance, while at the same time supporting the strategic stability and development of Eurasia.
Another important point is that extending six to seven could strengthen the anti-terrorist nature of the organization, especially in the problem areas of the border between Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and China and others.
Sergey Luzianin believes that the resources and opportunities for anti-terrorist activities and the struggle against the drug trafficking would grow manifold. At the same time, Indias interests concerning its security in the Central Asian region strategically coincide with those of Russia, China and the other SCO member-states.
The significant experience of the Indian special services in the anti-terrorist struggle can help the SCO common struggle against threats to security in the modern world. Apart from that, the SCOs expansion is not shaking the foundations and should not be viewed as a threat to other countries in the region and the world, Sergey Luzianin stresses. India entering the SCO is not aimed against any other countries or organizations and will not affect Indias long-standing relations with its other partners, Sergey Luzianin adds.
The SCO summit in Tashkent in 2010, - the expert recalls, - adopted a document describing the procedure for new members to enter the organization. The SCOs expansion to include such a large country as India would turn this organization into one of the most influential in the world.
SCO to be fortified by India: Voice of Russia
