SCO, India and Pakistan: New Perspectives and New Hopes

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held its 17th Meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, in June 2017, which were attended by all member countries of the SCO. In the Astana Summit, India and Pakistan were admitted as a full member of the SCO. It was a vital development from South Asian perspective as two populous countries of the region joined the SCO. Parenthetically, it was the Astana Summit in 2005 where these two countries and Iran were first attended the SCO meeting as an observers. Since the establishment of the SCO, it is the first but important expansion in the organization, particularly from the economic, security and geographic dimensions. India and Pakistan are the two most important countries from South Asia. The addition of the two countries means that the SCO has achieved double spillovers in terms of coverage and functionality. The SCO will gain new impetus on the enlargement of both newly members in economic, security and other aspects. This means that the long-term idea of the expansion of the SCO has become a reality and it also means that the internal construction of the SCO is basically completed. This paper analysis the strategic significance of India and Pakistan for SCO and highlight how SCO will play its role in the keeping India and Pakistan tranquil with each other in the future