India’s CHS presidency
India assumed the presidency of SCO CHS (the Council of Heads of State) on September 16, 2022 at the Summit in Samarkand and virtually hosted the SCO-CHS Summit on July 4, 2023. Prime Minister Narendra Modi articulated India’s priorities as moving towards a ‘SECURE’ SCO – Security, Economic Development, Connectivity, Unity, Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as environmental protection. During the course of its Presidency of SCO in 2022-2023, India worked on a diverse range of themes to provide a new dynamism to the multifaceted cooperation and in many areas opened up new venues for cooperation in order to meaningfully enrich the SCO’s agenda. More than 130 institutional meetings/events were held under India’s chairmanship, including 14 ministerial-level meetings. India also directed the cooperation in SCO towards five new fields: Startups and Innovation, Traditional Medicine, Science and Technology, Youth Empowerment and Shared Buddhist Heritage. Varanasi as the 1st SCO Cultural and Tourism Capital for 2022-23 hosted several events with the active participation of the Member States.
India Reiterates its stance on key issues
As Kyrgyzstan will be hosting the next SCO Summit, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar attended the SCO-CHG meeting in November 2025, when he reiterated the need for transparency: all processes must be fair, transparent and equitable. Since People-to-People exchanges are the cornerstone of SCO collaboration, he reiterated that as a civilisational state, India strongly believes that people-to-people exchanges lie at the core of any genuine relationship. Facilitating greater interaction between our intellectuals, artists, athletes and cultural icons will pave the way for deeper understanding across the SCO. Furthermore, the key concern about honesty in dealing with terrorism was yet again highlighted: “we must never forget that the SCO was founded to combat the three evils of terrorism, separatism and extremism. These threats have become even more serious in the years that have passed. It is imperative that the world display zero tolerance towards terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. There can be no justification, no looking away, and no whitewashing. As India has demonstrated, we have the right to defend our people against terrorism and will exercise it.”
Prime Minister Modi was unequivocal at the 25th Summit on this issue, while appreciating the work done by RATS, where he said “We must state it clearly and in one voice: double standards on terrorism are unacceptable. Together, we must oppose terrorism in every form and manifestation. This is our responsibility towards humanity.” Thus, it is clear that New Delhi’s deep concern regarding the global challenge of terrorism and extremism, especially cross-border terrorism, with which it has been struggling for decades due to its western neighbour, is a defining feature of its engagement in the SCO, even as it continues to attach great importance to the other initiatives and priorities of this important organisation.
Yet another key point of concern has been the lack of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity among some member countries when they embark on connectivity initiatives, like BRI and CPEC, which impinge on India’s territorial integrity. Hence Prime Minister Modi, at Tianjin, underscored that “We believe that every effort towards connectivity must uphold the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is also enshrined in the core principles of the SCO Charter.” India’s initiatives in the SCO have focused on economic issues, reflecting its desire to build economic cooperation with Central Asian states in order to improve its regional positioning and enhance multilateralism.
Connectivity efforts that bypass concerns regarding sovereignty ultimately lose both trust and meaning. The SCO can no doubt contribute to regional collaboration by adhering to the 4 Ms principle: members must embrace Mutual Respect, Mutual Interest, Mutual Sensitivity and Mutual Benefit in order for the group to emerge stronger and more relevant. Copious and vague declarations year after year will not suffice.
The Valdai Discussion Club was established in 2004. It is named after Lake Valdai, which is located close to Veliky Novgorod, where the Club’s first meeting took place.
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