India attends SCO Summit: Key Facts

On November 10, 2020, India attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit. India was represented by PM Modi at the summit. This is the 20^th summit of the organization and third for India since it became a member in 2017. India was an observer at the SCO since 2005.
Since 2017, the Indian delegation is being led by PM Modi at the summit.

Highlights

The summit was chaired by the Russian President Vladimir Putin. The other countries that attended the summit were Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. During the summit, the leaders adopted Moscow Declaration. The Executive Director of the of SCO RATS (Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure) made his interventions during the summit.

The Summit also focused on issues such as Commemoration of 75^th anniversary of World War II, COVID-19, digital economy and countering the spread of terrorism. It also discussed Internet and Countering Drug threats.

PM Modi Stern Message to China and Pakistan

During the summit, PM Modi gave a stern message to the both Pakistan and China. The Prime Minister asserted that India has had historical ties with the SCO countries and  is unnecessary to bring in bilateral issues in SCO agenda. He also asserted that it is important to respect each other sovereignty and integrity.

SCO

SCO is seen as a counterweight to the NATO. SCO focuses on security, trade, economic and cultural cooperation. This time, the heads of four observer states such as Afghanistan, Iran, Mongolia and Belarus also participated in the summit.

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is a multilateral bank that was set up in 2015. Recently, the bank approved 750 million USD loan to India to fight against COVID-19.

Since its set up the AIIB has lent 4.3 billion USD to India as of July 2020. Overall, the bank has approved 19.6 billion USD to 24 countries.

India is the largest borrower of AIIB. It accounts to 25% of total lending by AIIB.

Month: Current Affairs - November, 2020