24th SCO Summit 2024 in Astana, Kazakhstan

Summit Overview and Attendance

• 24th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State Meeting held on July 4, 2024, in Astana, Kazakhstan
• Hosted by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
• Notable attendees: Russian President Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif, UN Secretary-General Guterres
• India represented by External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, not PM Modi
• Belarus admitted as 10th full member of SCO

SCO Member Countries

1. China, 2. India, 3. Kazakhstan, 4. Kyrgyzstan, 5. Russia, 6. Pakistan, 7. Tajikistan, 8. Uzbekistan, 9. Iran, 10. (New Member) - Belarus

Key Discussions and Developments

• Focus on reviewing SCO activities over past two decades
• Emphasis on multilateral cooperation and regional issues
• Indian priorities shaped by PM Modi's 'SECURE' vision (Security, Economic cooperation, Connectivity, Unity, Respect for sovereignty, Environmental protection)
• Strong stance against terrorism: Dr. Jaishankar read PM Modi's address calling for decisive action against cross-border terrorism and its financing
• Discussion on SCO expansion: Originally 5 members in 2001, now 10 with recent additions of India, Pakistan, Iran, and Belarus

Future Outlook and SCO Structure

• Next summit (25th) to be held in China, which has taken over SCO presidency
• Qingdao named SCO's tourism and cultural capital for 2024-2025
• SCO focuses on regional security and cooperation
• Concerns raised about SCO potentially becoming an anti-Western alliance led by China and Russia
• Council of Heads of States is SCO's highest decision-making body, meeting annually
• SCO headquarters in Beijing, China
• 10 permanent members and 2 observer members (Afghanistan and Mongolia)