So far India has been participating at SCO meeting with the status of an Observer but last year, India with the full support of Russia, submitted its application for full membership and the five other member countries including China supported the Indian move. Pakistan has also applied for full membership and there is a possibility that both India and Pakistan will be granted full membership at the Ufa summit. With the Afghanistan issue getting priority consideration at the SCO discussions, India will be in a better position this time to present its views on the issues relating to the sustaining of a stable and friendly regime in Afghanistan.

For India, energy security is one area which will get big priority for discussions at the SCO summit. Being one of the largest energy consumers of the world, India certainly expects that getting SCO’s full membership will help the country participate in major gas and oil exploration projects in central Asia. The SCO has amongst its members some of the largest energy producers of the world. China and Russia are already big producers as also consumers. India which imports nearly 80 per cent of its energy requirements from overseas is looking for cheap products as also oil and gas bearing assets abroad for development and production.

As regards the 2015 SCO summit, the advantage for India is that Russia is the president of SCO and is the host country for organizing the agenda and the nature of discussions. President Putin has shown his interest in incorporating the Indian views on the agenda and that way, India can expect very positive discussions at the summit on both fight against terrorism and energy collaboration. India has also delinked itself from the western view on the sanctions against Russia regarding Ukraine policy and this has been appreciated by President Putin. There is scope for greater understanding between Russia and India on major issues including fight against terrorism and Afghan policy.

In fact, the expanded SCO with the participation of India and Pakistan as full members offers a unique opportunity for India to enhance its influence in the region and ensure its larger involvement in regional infrastructure as well as other economic projects relating to energy, trade, roadways and railway links. Politically, what is of significance is that given the US plans to leave Afghanistan and the obvious inability of the US and its western allies to maintain the stability in that country, the SCO with the active participation of Russia, China and India could emerge as a key player in the final Afghan settlement. Active participation in the SCO initiatives can help India to secure its national interests and in the process counter the approach of Pakistan where it conflicts with the interests of India.

Indian Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has initiated a massive infrastructure development programme in the country and the government policies encourage the Indian companies including both public and private sectors to go abroad and take part in big development projects. President Putin as the head of both SCO and BRICS this year has given big stress on collaboration in infrastructure and transportation among the member countries. President Putin has mentioned of the linking of Baikal Amur Mainline Trans Siberian Railroad with Western China-Europe Transport Corridor.

According to the Russian proposal, the idea of the formation of the SCO overall transport system with the use of transit potential of Russia’s Trans Siberian Railway, Baikal-Amur Mainline coupled with the plans on the development of Silk Road of China, has good prospects. Such large projects, President Putin has pointed out, will be of big interest to the member countries of SCO. President Putin has also mentioned that the implementation of this programme will make it possible to create a network of road routes, including Europe-Western China Transport Corridor with ports on the Yellow Sea to the ports of St. Petersburg region. The next step should involve the approval of the programme for coordinated development of motorways of the SCO member states, the Russian proposal points out.

Significantly, Iran is also interested in becoming a full member of SCO though its application might be considered in the 2016 summit after all the formalities are done for the withdrawal of the UN sanctions. Russia is interested in Iran becoming a full member and the Russian foreign minister has explained that Teheran made the request for full membership but the issue has not been formally considered because the organisation’s charter prohibits the accession of a candidate who is under any UN Security Council sanctions. The Russian Minister confirmed the position of Moscow of removing as soon as possible the sanctions imposed on Iran by the Security Council. The inclusion of Iran as a full member in SCO within the next two years, is sure to give a big boost to the clout of SCO in the coming period.

Indian observers have also noted that G-20 as a group is losing its cutting edge as lot of differences are there in the approach between the rich nations and the emerging economies. The consensus is evolved through bitter discussions and in many cases, the decisions fail to be implemented. As against this, the SCO and BRICS are much better placed to take major decisions and implement those since there is a commonality of approach on the vital issues including the development agenda. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be pro-active in the deliberations at the SCO meet and ensure that India pushes its development agenda with strength and vigour and plays an important role in strengthening the fight against terrorism and speedy formulation of a viable energy security programme for the Asian region. (IPA)