As the stand-off between Russia and the West continues, one organisation seems to be completely off the radar, and yet has managed to make great strides in its development and growth. This organisation is the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), an intergovernmental group of Central Asian countries aiming to promote cooperation between its six member states: Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The SCO’s main goal has been to serve as a forum to ease tensions in the region. In the organisation’s 2002 charter “confidence-building measures” were set as the alliance’s first priority. A key aspect of this strategy is the fight against the so-called “three evils:” terrorism, extremism and separatism.

Western media rarely reports on this organisation, however, during its annual summit which took place between 11 to 12 September in Tajikistan, SCO suggested and enacted some note-worthy proposals. The two-day forum was attended by regional leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his Chinese and Iranian counterparts, Xi Jinping and Hassan Rouhani. In a major step forward in expanding its regional clout, the SCO finalised procedures for taking in new members, with India, Pakistan, and Iran first on the list. Indeed expanding the SCO is a major priority for the organisation. Teng Jianqun of the China Institute of International Studies said recently that “enlargement has become absolutely necessary” for the SCO.

The reasoning behind the need for expansion is obvious. If the SCO is to have real weight on the international arena and become a truly prestigious organisation that is able to rival NATO, it requires additional members. If India, Pakistan, Iran and Mongolia were all to become permanent members, which looks likely, the group would then control 20 percent of the world’s oil and half of all global gas reserves. On top of that, the bloc would represent about half of the world’s population. This would fortify SCO’s reputation as a dominant organisation, Additionally, Turkey could become a member as well. Its leadership has long been seeking to join and Turkish-speaking governments are likely to support their petition. (…)

http://orientalreview.org/2014/09/18/shanghai-cooperation-organisation-on-the-rise/