The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ Meeting was held in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, from 27th to 29th July, 2021.
Meeting Highlights
Terrorism was highlighted as the most serious threat to international peace and security.
The Members reiterated the need to strengthen defence cooperation.
Non-traditional security challenges like pandemics, climate change, food security, water security and associated societal disruptions etc. were highlighted.
The role of SCO in the Afghanistan imbroglio was also discussed. It was highlighted that:
As a regional security organisation, it can play a stabilising role in Afghanistan by neutralising the Taliban and balancing the external players.
The SCO charter clearly mandates the organisation to take decisive steps against the forces of terrorism, radicalism and separatism. It has a Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS).
