Prof. Happymon Jacob (Jawaharlal Nehru University), Amb. Yogendra Kumar

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is likely to play a major role in the geopolitics of the South-Central Asian region. US withdrawal from Afghanistan, SCO’s focus on post-American Afghanistan, and the growing proximity among China, Russia and Pakistan will make SCO a potent vehicle of regional geopolitics. In this context it would be interesting to analyse the impact of the current geopolitical trends and deteriorating Sino-Indian bilateral relations on India’s engagement with the SCO in the broader context of PRC’s long-term aims vis-à-vis the SCO. What role, if any, will the SCO play in stabilizing the current disquiet in India-China relations? How does India view its role in the SCO in the wake of a two-front challenge from PRC and Pakistan and its larger policy towards Central Asia? How will India balance its engagement in the SCO with its growing participation in the Indo-Pacific agenda through other groupings such as the QUAD?