Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane is leading the Indian delegation to Astana, Kazakhstan from April 25-26, 2024 for the Annual Meeting of the Defence Ministers’ of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Member States. The meeting will review the regional security issues within the SCO, including the defence cooperation initiatives.

 The Defence Secretary will deliver the India statement at the ministerial meeting. He will also hold meetings with Defence Ministers of the friendly countries of the SCO to discuss issues of bilateral defence cooperation.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic, international security and defence organisation established by China and Russia in 2001. It is the world’s largest regional organisation in terms of geographic scope and population, covering approximately 80% of the area of Eurasia and 40% of the world population. As of 2021, its combined GDP was around 20% of global GDP.