Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

• a permanent intergovernmental international organization. 
• It meets once every year 
• The Heads of State Council (HSC) is the highest decision-making body in the SCO
• The Secretariat in Beijing (China) and the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent(Uzbekistan).
• Russian and Chinese are the official working languages of the SCO.
• SCO Business Council’s Permanent Secretariat is headquartered in Moscow.

History

• Before creation of SCO in 2001,Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan were members of the Shanghai Five
• It was after the accession of Uzbekistan to the organization in 2001, the Shanghai Five was renamed the SCO.
• India and Pakistan became members in 2017.
• 17^th September, 2021, it was announced that Iran would become a full member of the SCO.

SCO full members

•  India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

PYQs

Source: The Indian Express