What is the Shanghai Organization and what are its goals?
Two major events are happening this week: a summit meeting bringing the leaders of the nation-states that are members (or possibly future members) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO); and the signing of the final document making Iran full member of this intergovernmental organization (IGO). Iran will add about 90 million people to this bloc of countries, bringing the percentage of the world population represented in this IGO to more than half the world's population.
The activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Summit began in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, with the participation of leaders of member states, led by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Thursday, the Chinese and Russian presidents will meet bilaterally at a regional summit, which looks like a front against the West, at the height of severe tension exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.
In Samarkand - a key stop on the ancient Silk Road - Xi and Putin will be joined by leaders of India, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran and other countries for the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, which is the first in-person summit of the SCO leaders since 2019.
Russia’s leader, Putin, has played a major role in this organization; the reasons are explained in this in-depth analysis.
This review note explains both events, starting with an overview of the organization.
What is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization?
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a Eurasian
international organization, founded in the form of a political, economic and
military alliance, in the Chinese city of Shanghai, on June 15, 2001, by 6
countries initially, namely: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
and Uzbekistan. These countries, with the exception of Uzbekistan, were members
of the "Shanghai Five-Year Group" established on April 26, 1996 in
Shanghai.
Subsequently, India and Pakistan joined the organization as
full members, on June 9, 2017, at the Astana Summit. During the organization's
summit held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on September 17, 2021, the members agreed
to change Iran's status in the organization from an observer member to a full
member.
The organization also includes non-member observer
countries, including: Belarus, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Nepal, Cambodia, Armenia
and Sri Lanka. It comes after the member states of the "dialogue
partnership", including Turkey, which became a member since 2012, and
recently Egypt and Qatar joined as well. There are many countries interested in
establishing relations with the organization, such as: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain,
UAE, Iraq and Syria, All of them seek to join the "dialogue
partnership".
The vast area that includes the member states of the
Shanghai Organization extends from north to south; From the Arctic to the
Indian Ocean, from east to west; From Lianyungang in China to Kaliningrad in
the Russian Federation, in addition to Iran, the 5 countries with nuclear
capabilities will be united into one regional organization.
Members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization make up
nearly half of the world's population and nearly 5/3 of the Eurasian land mass,
making it the world's largest regional political alliance. The Shanghai
Organization in the West is often called the "Eastern Alliance".
Shanghai and enhance mutual trust policies
During the Saint Petersburg Summit in 2002, the organization signed its charter, which explains its objectives, principles, structures and modes of action, for recognition in international law. In September 2003, the charter of the organization entered into force.
According to the charter of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization, summits of the Council of Heads of State are held annually in
designated places, alternately, in alphabetical order of the name of the member
state in Russian. The Charter also stipulates that the members of the Council
of Heads of Government (ie, Prime Ministers) meet annually at a place decided
by the members of the Council.
The objectives of the organization revolve around promoting
policies of mutual trust and good-neighbourliness among member states,
combating terrorism and strengthening security, combating crime and drug
trafficking, and confronting separatist movements and religious or ethnic
extremism.
Shanghai .. and regional security
Since its establishment in 2001, the organization has mainly
focused its efforts on issues of regional security and combating terrorism,
national separatist movements and religious extremism. Regional development has
also become among its priorities.
The organization intends to further develop its permanent
body, the Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS). Between 2011 and 2015,
under the coordination of the Regional Counter-Terrorism Structure, the
authorities in the member states of the organization were able to prevent 20
terrorist attacks from taking place. It was still in the planning stages,
avoiding 650 crimes of a terrorist and extremist nature, removing 440 terrorist
training camps and neutralizing 1,700 member organizations of the international
terrorist, according to the Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization Rashid Alimov.
The organization arrested more than 2,700 members of
proscribed armed groups and their associates, and persons suspected of criminal
activities, while 213 persons linked to terrorist or extremist organizations
were handed over, with many of them sentenced to long prison terms. 180
suspects were placed on wanted lists, 600 secret bases equipped with weapons
were discovered, and more than 3,250 indiscriminate explosive devices were
confiscated, in addition to 10,000 weapons, about 450,000 pieces of ammunition,
and more than 52 tons of explosives, according to Alimov.
The organization has enjoyed observer status in the United
Nations General Assembly since 2005. In April 2010, the secretariats of the
United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization signed a joint
declaration on cooperation.
The Organization's General Secretariat has also established
partnerships with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO), the World Tourism Organization and the International
Organization for Migration, in addition to its ongoing cooperation with the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the United Nations Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the United Nations Office of
Counter-Terrorism .
In the context of special anti-drug operations conducted
within the territories of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization over many
years, the organization seized about 69 tons of lethal heroin from traffickers,
and this figure constitutes about 14% of the drugs seized worldwide.
The UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, as
well as the UN Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, maintain regular
contacts with Shanghai Cooperation Organization officials.
Military and counter-terrorism activities
The peoples of this organization constitute about half of
humanity, which makes it a huge fundamental entity that cannot be
underestimated politically, economically or militarily in the global system,
and over the past few years the activities of the organization have expanded to
include increasing military cooperation, exchanging intelligence information
and combating terrorism.
The organization says that it "conducts military
exercises regularly among members to enhance cooperation and coordination
against terrorism and other external threats, and to maintain regional peace
and stability."
There have been a number of SCO joint military exercises. The
first was held in 2003, with the first phase taking place in Kazakhstan and the
second in China. Since then, China and Russia have cooperated in large-scale
war games in 2005, 2007 and 2009, sponsored by the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization.
More than 4,000 soldiers participated in the 2007 joint
military exercise, known as the "Peace Mission", which took place in
Chelyabinsk, Russia, near the Ural Mountains. After the successful completion
of these war games, Russian officials started talking about India joining such
exercises in the future.
The organization conducted maneuvers under the name
"Peace Mission 2021", with the participation of Russia, China, India,
Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan, in addition to
Belarus, which participated for the first time in these maneuvers aimed at
"fighting terrorism", which lasted for 4 days.
Some Western observers described the organization as the
"NATO of the East", and classified it as an emerging military bloc to
be wary of, and as the largest anti-American bloc in the region.
Regional Economic Development
The organization sought to help develop regional economies,
create favorable conditions for trade and support investment initiatives from
Eastern Europe to the Russian east coast and China, as well as build an
integrated road transport system.
The size of the economies of the member states of the
organization, in the year 2020, amounted to about 18.4 trillion dollars, while
the intra-OIC trade jumped to 6.2 trillion dollars during the same period.
Since the establishment of the organization nearly 21 years
ago, China has proposed a long-term goal of establishing a free trade area
among member states, in addition to taking other immediate measures to improve
the flow of goods in the region.
The organization established its own Business Council, on
June 14, 2006, with the aim of expanding economic cooperation among member
states, establishing direct relationships between financial communities, and
facilitating the practical promotion of multilateral economic projects.
In the same year, the organization also established what is
known as the “Confederation of Interbank Banks” (SCO IBC) with the aim of
providing financing and banking services for investment projects sponsored by
the governments of the member states of the organization, as the SCO IBC meets
in particular based on the consensus of all parties once At least every year.
Priority areas of cooperation within the SCO include:
providing financing for projects focused on infrastructure, basic industries,
high-tech industries, export-oriented sectors and social enterprises, issuing
and providing loans based on generally accepted international banking
practices, and organizing pre-export financing to stimulate trade and economic
cooperation between Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states, and other
areas of common interest.
The countries of this organization are seeking to integrate
among themselves at the economic level, in order to break the US-imposed
embargo, especially Iran, Russia and China, to attract Asian investments and
supply energy products.
The Shanghai Organization, in all its countries, has great
potential on the geopolitical level, in the field of oil, gas, electric power,
and many others. Any new country obtaining membership in the organization will
lead to the economic integration that the organization aims to, and this matter
will certainly strengthen the position of the East vis-à-vis the Western
countries that adopt a unipolar policy.
Iran is a full member of the "Shanghai Organization" .. Timing and economic importance
Meeting with Iran’s president, Putin reminded the Iranian leader of Russia’s role in the process and stated that now Russia will take its relations with Iran to the next level:
“Russia has done everything for Iran to become a
full-fledged member of Shanghai
Cooperation Organization, Russian delegation with representatives of 80 large
Russian companies will travel to Iran next week.”
Iran's acceptance as a full member of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization at this time is not without connotations, as it
coincides with changes inside and outside Iran. Changes appear in its favor,
especially in terms of getting it out of the US economic embargo, which
officially began with its signing of the strategic partnership agreement with
China.
In another expansionary step with great significance at
various levels, the organization announced at its meeting today, through the
words of Chinese President Xi Jinping, its agreement to grant Iran full
membership in it, after it had been an observer member in it for years. The
Chinese president said, “Iran will be considered a full member.” in the
Shanghai Organization at today's meeting."
Significance of membership timing
The granting of Iran full membership in the Shanghai
Organization at this time seems remarkable, as it was followed by:
1- The China-Iran strategic agreement, which was signed in
Tehran on March 27, after a regional tour by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi
that included the Gulf states and Turkey.
The "Strategic Partnership Document", as it was
called, is a 25-year agreement between the two countries, covering the
political, economic, military and industrial fields.
This agreement serves both countries, as it guarantees the
global economic giant a further growth in its role and consolidation of its
presence on the international scene, especially in the countries that the
United States has placed on the list of “forbidden areas” imposed by its harsh
economic sanctions.
It also guarantees Iran an open outlet through which it is
liberated from these sanctions, disposes of its oil production that America
does not buy, and prevents other countries from buying it by imposing sanctions
on them, in an attempt to put economic pressure on Iran to change its political
positions, and Iran imports In return for its exported oil, it needs industrial
equipment, machinery and expertise, and it is preparing its ports and
infrastructure with Chinese assistance, allowing the latter to use these
facilities to export its products through land and sea towards the eastern
shores of the Mediterranean, then to the European continents in the north and
Africa in the south.
2- The complete and urgent US military withdrawal from
Afghanistan, the country that has been occupied by the United States and its
NATO allies for 20 years, located within the borders of the Eurasian region,
and implanted between the two major countries in the world, China and Russia,
as the United States sought to prevent their convergence and impede their
growth economy, especially China, by cutting off its land and sea exports to
the West, and threatening its security by igniting wars and security disturbances.
Here, it is worth noting that it is not a coincidence or a
detail that the organization was formed only about 4 months before the
anniversary of the American invasion of Afghanistan, and against the drums of
this war that the United States and Britain had waged after the September 11
attacks that toppled the World Trade Center in New York. It also targeted the
US Department of Defense (Pentagon).
The American role obstructing the work of the Shanghai
Organization and the growth of China’s economic standing was demonstrated by
the hastening of the leaders of the “Taliban” movement, which quickly and
gradually seized all the Afghan regions in conjunction with the departure of
the occupying forces, to visit China and meet officials in its Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, and their emphasis on the pivotal Chinese role in Reconstruct
the country exhausted by occupation and conflicts, and reassure them that they
will not use Afghan lands to target the security of other countries.
3- The election of a new president of Iran last June, the
head of the judiciary and the strongman, Ibrahim Raisi, by a large margin of
votes over his closest remaining rival, after the withdrawal of the most famous
names nominated in his favor, as former chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.
Since the beginning of his term, Raisi has sought to enhance
his country's presence and position in the world, by strengthening its
relations at the regional level, and benefiting from all its capabilities,
foremost of which is its geographical location. He reached Eurasia through a
corridor linking the north with the south.
Before heading to Tajikistan, Raisi said that his country's
participation in the summit "will focus on our economic and cultural
relations with Asian countries," and stressed that "cooperation with
neighboring countries and the region is a top priority for Iran's foreign
policy."
Last August, Raisi declared that strengthening Iran's
relations with Russia and China, the two main members of the organization, was
a priority of his foreign policy.
Opening economic fields to Iran and liberating it from the American blockade
Among the three previous points, the strategic agreement
between Iran and China, which represents the most prominent pillar of the
organization, is the most important thing that contributed to Iran's accession
to it, so that it appears that what happened is nothing but an expansion of the
official international recognition of Iran's regional role and presence, and a
greater contribution to its removal. Under the American economic blockade, and
in opening the fields to it by both China and Russia, whose President Vladimir
Putin stated during his speech at the summit, that his country “supports the
decision submitted for approval by the Council of Heads of State of the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization regarding the start of procedures for Iran’s
admission to the organization , stressing the mutual importance of its
accession by saying that this would "increase the international authority
of the organization."
In the first Iranian comment, the spokesman for the
Presidency of the Iranian Parliament, Nizamuddin Mousavi, considered, in an
interview with ISNA, that what we are witnessing is "the establishment of
a new world order where the Quartet of Power in the East (Russia, China, India,
Iran) is considered one of the most important international players in this new
world order," he added, adding that "Iran's accession to this
organization, despite Washington's opposition, proves that the era of unilateral
policies is over and we are witnessing the establishment of a new world
order."
In economic terms, Mousavi said that his country's accession
"means reaching a market of 3 billion people, and this is a great
opportunity that we must have a roadmap to exploit in the best way."
This accession was preceded by the nuclear negotiations
between Iran and the P5+1 countries, rounds of which were conducted in the
Austrian capital Vienna in the last months of the term of former President
Hassan Rouhani, with talk of preparing for other rounds after the formation of
the first Iranian government under President Ibrahim Raisi. Without neglecting
the positive visit of the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency,
Rafael Grossi, to Tehran, and his meeting with the head of the Atomic Energy
Organization of Iran, Mohammad Eslami.
All of the foregoing contributes to comforting Iran with the
beginning of the era of President Ibrahim Raisi, and makes it approach an
international position that it seeks to reach despite the obstacles of its
enemies to this, which will also put it in front of major challenges in order
to hold on to these gains and take advantage of the new opportunities
available.
___________________________________________________
This weekly events review included research notes and
analysis from Reda Zeidan.
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