India as the Chair of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in 2023 will host the SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting on 28 April 2023 in New Delhi. Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an intergovernmental organization established in 2001. The SCO membership includes Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan besides India. Apart from the member states, two observer countries Belarus and Iran will also be participating in the SCO Defence Ministers Meeting on 28 April 2023.

The Defence Ministers will discuss amongst other issues matters concerning regional peace and security, counter terrorism efforts within SCO and an effective multilateralism.

The theme of India’s Chairmanship of SCO in 2023 is ‘SECURE-SCO’. India attaches special importance to SCO in promoting multilateral, political, security, economic and people-to-people interactions in the region. The ongoing engagement with SCO has helped India promote its relations with the countries in the region with which India has shared civilizational linkages, and is considered India’s extended neighbourhood.

SCO pursues its policy based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations, non-interference in internal affairs, equality of all member States and mutual understanding and respect for opinions of each of them. 

Rajnath Singh will also hold bilateral meetings with the Defence Ministers of participating countries on the side-lines of the SCO Defence Ministers’ Meet.