Rajnath Singh to attend Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Defence Ministers’ meet in Bishkek
India was represented at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' meeting held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on April 28, 2026. The Defence M...
What Happened
- India was represented at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' meeting held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on April 28, 2026.
- The Defence Ministry dispatched the Defence Minister to attend the multilateral forum, bringing together defence chiefs from all 10 SCO member states.
- Key agenda items included counter-terrorism cooperation, combating extremism, joint military coordination, intelligence-sharing frameworks, and evolving geopolitical pressures amid shifting global alignments.
- India's consistent position at SCO platforms has been the need for decisive collective action against cross-border terrorism and radicalisation, with a call on all member states to sever links between state actors and terrorist networks.
- Kyrgyzstan holds the SCO Presidency in 2026 and is hosting a series of ministerial-level meetings, including foreign ministers and NSA-level consultations, leading up to the annual SCO Summit later in the year.
- The meeting underscored the continuing relevance of the SCO as a platform for India to engage with China and Russia on regional security, even as bilateral relations with individual members remain complex.
Static Topic Bridges
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
The SCO is an intergovernmental political, economic, and security alliance founded on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai. It has grown from a six-member body into the world's largest regional organisation by geographic scope and population, covering approximately 65% of Eurasia and 42% of the global population.
- Headquarters: Secretariat in Beijing, China; Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
- Founded: June 15, 2001 (successor to the Shanghai Five, 1996)
- Current Members (10): China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan (founding six), India and Pakistan (joined 2017), Iran (joined 2023), Belarus (joined 2024)
- Observer States: Mongolia; Afghanistan (inactive)
- Dialogue Partners: 14, including Sri Lanka, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nepal, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Myanmar, Maldives, Bahrain, Kuwait
- Core Mandate: Regional peace and stability; counter-terrorism; economic and trade cooperation; combating the "three evils" — terrorism, separatism, extremism
Connection to this news: The Bishkek meeting is a formal SCO Defence Ministers' mechanism, one of the structured pillars through which member states coordinate on the "three evils" framework, making it a direct institutional expression of the SCO's security mandate.
Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS)
RATS is the permanent SCO body dedicated to coordinating member states' counter-terrorism efforts. It operates through a shared database of terrorist and extremist groups, facilitates joint exercises, and supports intelligence sharing among member governments.
- Headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
- Works alongside national security and intelligence agencies of all member states
- India has pushed for RATS to be more explicitly focused on state-sponsored cross-border terrorism
Connection to this news: Defence Ministers' meetings often set the political direction for RATS operations. India's advocacy for stronger SCO counter-terrorism action typically flows through these ministerial channels.
India's Dual Challenge at SCO
India's position in the SCO is structurally complex: it shares membership with both China (with which it has a disputed border) and Pakistan (a state India accuses of harbouring cross-border terrorist infrastructure). SCO platforms thus double as both a cooperative multilateral forum and a venue for conveying strategic positions.
- India joined the SCO in 2017 alongside Pakistan
- India has consistently flagged "state-sponsored terrorism" at SCO forums — a pointed reference without naming actors
- India participates in SCO military exercises but has not joined exercises with Pakistan in certain formats
Connection to this news: The Bishkek meeting represents India's continued engagement with this complex grouping, using it to reinforce its counter-terrorism stance at the multilateral level while managing bilateral sensitivities.
Key Facts & Data
- SCO was founded: June 15, 2001
- SCO Secretariat: Beijing, China
- RATS Headquarters: Tashkent, Uzbekistan
- Current SCO members: 10 (including India since 2017)
- SCO covers ~65% of Eurasia and 42% of the world's population
- Kyrgyzstan holds the 2026 SCO Presidency
- India joined SCO in 2017, the same year as Pakistan
- Iran became the 9th member in 2023; Belarus became the 10th in 2024
- The SCO's three core threat categories: terrorism, separatism, extremism (the "three evils")
- India has approximately 1.4 million active military personnel, ranking among the largest standing armies globally