The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has the potential to resolve many of the issues the region is currently grappling with, including Afghan conflict. Two global superpowers – Russia and China — which also reserve veto power at the United Nations Security Council are members of the organization, and more importantly, the bloc’s full members account for almost half of the world’s population. Also economically, China and India are two major global economies and if they reach an agreement to work together on their common issues for their common interests, the SCO can set a textbook example of global cooperation.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s 19th Summit was held on Friday in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek. Addressing the meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on SCO’s member states to build the SCO into a community with a shared future. He stressed that the member states should work together to make the bloc a model of unity and mutual trust, and play a crucial role in peace, reconciliation, stability and development in Afghanistan because all member states agree that the Afghan conflict is a key regional concern that prompts them to ramp up their involvement in its peaceful settlement. SCO’s role is crucial in resolving regional problems, especially Afghan war as violence and instability in Afghanistan pose a threat to its members more than anywhere for reasons of geographic proximity and the high possibility of spillover effects. Thus, the fate of the SCO countries and Afghanistan is interlinked, meaning that Afghanistan’s stability is essential for the accomplishment of SCO’s objectives, especially the execution of economic and development projects.
Another important point is that SCO can have a huge contribution in the political settlement of Afghan war as regional consensus is a prerequisite for peace and stability in Afghanistan. If SCO members, as President Xi stressed on, put aside their internal differences for their shared future, and focus on areas with greater room for cooperation instead of tensions, it can steer the not only Afghanistan but also the entire region towards stability and prosperity.