News: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will attend SCO’s Heads of Government meeting in Islamabad. This visit to Pakistan by EAM is first in 9 years, after Sushma Swaraj last attended the Heart of Asia Ministerial Conference in 2015.
1. Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a permanent inter-governmental, Eurasian organisation, established in 2001, in Shanghai by China, Russia and 5 CARs (Central Asian Republics)- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
2. SCO membership has been expanded to include 10 Member countries- China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus.
4. SCO has 2 standing bodies: A) Secretariat in Beijing B) Executive Committee of Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent.
5. SCO is headquartered in Beijing, China.
6. Heart of Asia (HoA) Conference is a regional initiative of Afghanistan and Turkey, founded in 2011 in Istanbul.
7. HoA aims to promote regional security, economic and political cooperation, with focus on Afghanistan, through dialogue and confidence building measures.
8. HoA’s membership comprises of 15 countries, including India.
