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SCO TOURISM MINISTERS’ MEET

20th March, 2023

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Context: India put forward an action plan as a mark to 2023 being celebrated as the year of tourism development in the SCO tourism ministers’ conference held in Varanasi

Details:

  • Union Tourism Minister was the chair of the meet
  • The aim of the joint action plan includes the promotion of the following:
  • SCO tourism brand
  • The cultural heritage of member states
  • Sharing of information and digital technologies in tourism
  • Mutual cooperation in medical and health tourism.
  • Other joint activities such as the SCO tourism exhibition, SCO Food Festival, webinars and seminars etc would also be undertaken.
  • Action Plan for ‘Year of Tourism Development in the SCO Space in 2023’ was also adopted by the member states.
  • Varanasi is the first tourism and cultural capital of SCO.

About SCO:

  • It is 8 members multilateral organization
  • It was established on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai with China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as its members

History:

  • The treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions led to the formation of the Shanghai Five group (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan) on 26 April 1996.
  • Uzbekistan was admitted in 2001.
  • In 2001 the Declaration of Shanghai Cooperation Organization was signed.
  • India, Iran and Pakistan were granted Observer status in the 2005 summit which was held in Astana.
  • In the Ufa summit of 2015, it was decided to admit India and Pakistan as full members.  
  • They officially joined SCO as full- members at the 2017 Astana Summit.

Structure:

  • Permanent Bodies include the SCO Secretariat in Beijing and the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent.
  • The Chairmanship of SCO is rotated amongst the Member States for one year.
  • The Council of Heads of States is the apex decision-making body in the SCO.
  • A meeting is held every year in any one of the member’s capital cities.
  • The Council of Heads of Governments is the second-highest body. Here members discuss issues of multilateral cooperation and approve the organization's budget.
  • The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) serves to promote the cooperation of member states against terrorism, separatism and extremism. It is headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
  • The Secretariat of the SCO is the primary executive body. It is located in Beijing. Functions are:
  • Implementation of the organizational decisions and decrees
  • Acts as a document depository for the organization
  • Arranges specific activities within the SCO framework
  • Promotion of information about the SCO.
  • The official working languages are Chinese and Russian.

Observer States:

    • Afghanistan
    • Belarus
    • Iran
    • Mongolia

    Dialogue Partners:

    • Sri Lanka
    • Turkey

    MUST READ: https://www.iasgyan.in/blogs/sco-summit-an-analysis

    PRACTICE QUESTION

    Q) Which of the following statements is/are correct with reference to Shanghai Cooperation Organization?

    a. The Council of Heads of Governments is the highest body.

    b. The official working languages are Chinese and Russian.

    1. Only a
    2. Only b
    3. Both a and b
    4. Neither a nor b

    Answer: Option 2

     

    https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-global/sco-tourism-ministers-conference-varanasi-8504842/