5th Meeting of SCO Member States’ Heads of Ministries and Departments of S&T 24/11/2019 – Posted in: Press Information Bureau

Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of SCO Member States

Ministry of Science & Technology

WHAT

India will be the host of the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) the Member States in 2020 for the first time. India will also host the SCO Forum of Young Scientists and Innovators in 2020.

The 5th Meeting of SCO Member States’ Heads of Ministries and Departments of Science and Technology and Permanent Working Group on S&T Cooperation concluded in Moscow.

 

SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANISATION

  • The SCO is a China-led eight-member economic and security bloc in which India and Pakistan were admitted as full members in 2017.
  • Its founding members included China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The creation of SCO was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai, China by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
  • The SCO, which has its headquarters in Beijing, holds summits of heads of states as well as heads of government meetings annually in member countries.

 

IMPORTANCE OF SCO

The SCO has high economic potential because 40 percent of the world population lives in its countries, which produce an aggregate GDP of more than USD 18 trillion, which is more than the 22 percent of the global GDP and by 2025, it is expected to reach 38-40 percent.

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
  • India and Pakistan joined SCO as full members on 9 June 2017 at a summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.
  • The Heads of State Council (HSC) is the supreme decision-making body in the SCO.
  • The SCO is widely regarded as the “alliance of the East”, due to its growing centrality in Asia-Pacific.
  • It is the largest regional organisation in the world in terms of geographical coverage and population, covering three-fifths of the Eurasian continent and nearly half of the human population.

 

Source: PIB

 

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