On 29 August 2026, the Prime Minister issued a departure statement ahead of a visit to the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic from 29 August to 1 September 2026 — a state visit to Tashkent on 29–30 August at President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's invitation, followed by Bishkek for the 26th SCO Summit at the invitation of President Sadyr Zhaparov.
Two framings from the statement are worth carrying. The summit marks 25 years of the organisation, and India's stated approach to the region is anchored in "Security, Connectivity and Opportunity" — three words that map neatly onto three real problems.
The organisation, precisely
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 15 June 2001, at Shanghai |
| Predecessor | The Shanghai Five (from 1996) |
| Founding members | China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan — joined at founding by Uzbekistan |
| India and Pakistan | Full members, 2017 |
| Iran | 2023 |
| Belarus | 2024 |
| Total members | Ten |
| Secretariat | Beijing |
| RATS Executive Committee | Tashkent |
| Observers | Afghanistan, Mongolia |
The two-headquarters point is the single most examinable fact. The Secretariat is in Beijing; the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure sits in Tashkent. Candidates routinely put both in one city.
RATS deserves more than its acronym. It is the SCO's permanent counter-terrorism body, working on information exchange about terrorist organisations and individuals, coordination between security agencies, and joint exercises. Its existence is the reason India valued membership: the organisation's founding purpose was combating what its documents call the "three evils" — terrorism, separatism and extremism — the formulation the Prime Minister's statement echoes when it speaks of "a region free from the scourge of terrorism, separatism and extremism."
Why Central Asia matters to India, and the problem that limits it
The interests are real and specific.
- Energy and minerals. Central Asia holds substantial hydrocarbons and, increasingly important, uranium and critical minerals — Kazakhstan is among the world's largest uranium producers, and India's expanding nuclear programme gives that direct relevance.
- Security. The region borders Afghanistan; instability there propagates outward, and India's concerns about terrorism originating in its wider neighbourhood are directly engaged.
- Strategic balance. Both China, through the Belt and Road Initiative, and Russia, through longstanding ties, are heavily present. Indian absence is not neutral; it cedes the space.
- Civilisational connection. The statement's reference to visiting the Shastri Memorial and the Mahatma Gandhi Centre at Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies invokes a genuinely deep historical link — the Silk Road exchange, shared Persianate cultural inheritance, and, in the modern period, the Tashkent Declaration of 1966, where Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri died hours after signing the agreement ending the 1965 India-Pakistan war. That memorial is the reason the visit includes it.
And now the constraint, which is the analytical heart of any answer on Central Asia: India has no direct land access to the region. Pakistan lies between, and does not permit transit. This single geographic fact explains most of what India does in Central Asia.
The workarounds are the examinable content:
- Chabahar port in Iran — developed with Indian involvement, it allows cargo to reach Afghanistan and Central Asia bypassing Pakistan entirely.
- The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) — a multimodal route from India through Iran to Russia and onward to Europe, conceived in 2000 by India, Iran and Russia, and substantially shorter than the Suez route on paper.
- The Ashgabat Agreement, which India joined in 2018, linking transport corridors between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.
The honest assessment, which distinguishes a strong answer: these routes are real but under-utilised, constrained by sanctions on Iran, incomplete infrastructure and paperwork friction. India's trade with Central Asia remains modest relative to its ambitions and to China's presence. Saying that plainly is more accurate than listing corridors as though listing them made them busy.
The institutional framework to name alongside: the India-Central Asia Dialogue at foreign-minister level, and the India-Central Asia Summit first held virtually in 2022 with all five republics — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. These economic and connectivity questions connect to the wider treatment of international trade in the CDS syllabus.
One cultural item from the statement worth knowing: the World Nomad Games, whose sixth edition opening ceremony the Prime Minister will attend — a multi-sport event of traditional Central Asian nomadic sports, first held in Kyrgyzstan in 2014.
What "Security, Connectivity and Opportunity" actually means
The three-word formulation is not decorative, and unpacking it is the sort of thing that turns a factual answer into an analytical one:
- Security — counter-terrorism cooperation through RATS, and a stake in Afghan stability.
- Connectivity — the Chabahar–INSTC problem set, and India's consistent position that connectivity projects must respect sovereignty and territorial integrity, a principle India has invoked in declining to endorse the Belt and Road Initiative in SCO documents.
- Opportunity — trade, investment, energy, digital connectivity and the pharmaceutical and IT sectors where India has an offer that Central Asian states want.
That third point is where the visit's practical content sits: the statement names trade and investment, digital connectivity, defence and energy as the agenda with Uzbekistan, alongside the shared framing of Viksit Bharat and Yangi Uzbekistan — "New Uzbekistan," President Mirziyoyev's reform programme.
🔑 Revision block
The visit. 29 August – 1 September 2026 — state visit to Tashkent (29–30 August, at President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's invitation), then Bishkek for the 26th SCO Summit (President Sadyr Zhaparov). Agenda with Uzbekistan: trade and investment, digital connectivity, defence, energy; shared framings Viksit Bharat and Yangi Uzbekistan. Also: the Shastri Memorial, the Mahatma Gandhi Centre at Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies, and the opening of the 6th World Nomad Games.
The SCO. Founded 15 June 2001, Shanghai, from the Shanghai Five (1996). India and Pakistan full members 2017 · Iran 2023 · Belarus 2024 · ten members. Secretariat — Beijing. RATS Executive Committee — Tashkent. Observers: Afghanistan, Mongolia. The summit marks 25 years.
The "three evils". Terrorism, separatism and extremism — the SCO's founding preoccupation, addressed through RATS: information exchange, agency coordination, joint exercises.
India's stated approach. Security, Connectivity and Opportunity.
Why Central Asia matters. Energy and critical minerals (Kazakhstan among the largest uranium producers — directly relevant to India's nuclear expansion) · security (Afghanistan's neighbourhood) · strategic balance against Chinese and Russian presence · civilisational connection.
The historical anchor. The Tashkent Declaration, 1966 — Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri died hours after signing the agreement ending the 1965 war; the Shastri Memorial is in Tashkent.
The constraint that explains everything. India has no direct land access to Central Asia — Pakistan lies between and does not permit transit.
The workarounds. Chabahar port (Iran) · INSTC — International North-South Transport Corridor, conceived 2000 by India, Iran and Russia · Ashgabat Agreement, joined by India in 2018.
The honest assessment. These routes are real but under-utilised — sanctions on Iran, incomplete infrastructure, paperwork friction. Trade with Central Asia stays modest relative to ambition and to China's presence.
The frameworks. India-Central Asia Dialogue (foreign-minister level) and the India-Central Asia Summit, first held virtually in 2022 with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
The connectivity principle. India insists connectivity must respect sovereignty and territorial integrity — the basis on which it has declined to endorse the Belt and Road Initiative in SCO documents.
🎯 Practice MCQs
Q1. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was founded in: (a) 2001 (b) 1996 (c) 2017 (d) 2005 → (a) — evolving from the Shanghai Five of 1996.
Q2. India became a full member of the SCO in: (a) 2017 (b) 2001 (c) 2005 (d) 2023 → (a), along with Pakistan.
Q3. The SCO Secretariat is located at: (a) Beijing (b) Tashkent (c) Moscow (d) Bishkek → (a) — RATS is at Tashkent.
Q4. The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of the SCO is headquartered at: (a) Tashkent (b) Beijing (c) Astana (d) Dushanbe → (a).
Q5. The 'three evils' identified by the SCO are: (a) terrorism, separatism and extremism (b) poverty, hunger and disease (c) drugs, arms and human trafficking (d) corruption, crime and cyber attack → (a).
Q6. Which country joined the SCO in 2024? (a) Belarus (b) Iran (c) India (d) Mongolia → (a) — Iran joined in 2023.
Q7. The Tashkent Declaration of 1966 is associated with: (a) the end of the 1965 India-Pakistan war (b) the founding of the SCO (c) the Non-Aligned Movement (d) the INSTC → (a) — Lal Bahadur Shastri died hours after signing it.
Q8. India's access to Central Asia bypassing Pakistan is developed principally through: (a) Chabahar port in Iran (b) Gwadar port (c) Karachi (d) Bandar Abbas only → (a).
Q9. The International North-South Transport Corridor was conceived in 2000 by: (a) India, Iran and Russia (b) India, China and Russia (c) the SCO members (d) India and the EU → (a).
Q10. India joined the Ashgabat Agreement in: (a) 2018 (b) 2011 (c) 2022 (d) 2017 → (a).
Q11. The World Nomad Games, whose sixth edition opening the Prime Minister attends, originated in: (a) Kyrgyzstan (b) Kazakhstan (c) Mongolia (d) Uzbekistan → (a), first held in 2014.
Q12. The five Central Asian republics are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and: (a) Turkmenistan (b) Azerbaijan (c) Afghanistan (d) Mongolia → (a).
📋 How this gets asked (PYQ pattern)
Regional-organisation questions have four dependable shapes. The headquarters item — SCO Secretariat at Beijing against RATS at Tashkent, and the wider set (ASEAN at Jakarta, SAARC at Kathmandu, BIMSTEC at Dhaka, IORA at Mauritius), asked as matching. The membership-year item — 2017 for India, 2023 for Iran, 2024 for Belarus, with the founding year 2001. The corridor item — INSTC, Chabahar and the Ashgabat Agreement, distinguished from China's BRI and CPEC. The map item — placing the five Central Asian republics, where Turkmenistan is the one most often omitted and Azerbaijan wrongly included.
The fresh 2026 hook is the 26th SCO Summit at Bishkek marking 25 years, and India's "Security, Connectivity and Opportunity" formulation. A statement pair on the founding year and India's accession year is the likeliest single item. As always, we describe the recurring pattern, not any exact past question.
Preparing for CDS or OTA? International-organisation questions are pure structure — founding year, headquarters, members, specialised bodies — so one table beats any amount of reading about summits. Build the base with our notes on international trade and the CDS/OTA geography hub, follow the daily CDS/OTA current affairs, and prepare with our faculty in the upcoming Cavalier courses in Delhi.
✍️ Written by Hitendra Deswal — Economy & international-affairs faculty at The Cavalier. Reviewed by the Cavalier Faculty Desk. The Cavalier, founded by ex-Army officers, has trained NDA/CDS/SSB aspirants since 2001 (Facebook · YouTube).
Source: PIB / Prime Minister's Office, 29 August 2026. SCO structure and membership cross-verified with independent sources.