India to host key SCO anti-terror meet next week

India will host Shanghai Cooperation Organization's (SCO's) anti-terror body--Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure or RATS--next week here and interestingly Pakistan will send a delegation for the meet.

The meeting scheduled between May 16-19 will see the participation of all nine members of the grouping and has assumed significance amid prevalent terror network in the Af-Pak region and threats from narcotics smuggling, ET has learnt.

SCO's RATS, based in Tashkent, is a permanent body of the grouping for countering terrorism, extremism, and separatism in the Eurasian region.


A three-member Pakistani delegation will take part in the meeting in Delhi, sources indicated. This will be first delegation that could visit India since the new government took charge in Islamabad.

India is the current chair of the executive council of SCO Rats. Director of SCO RATS Mirzaev Ruslan Erkinovich visited India earlier this year and held talks with NSA Ajit Doval and the Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs Meenakashi Lekhi.

India will be hosting the SCO RATS council meeting this October. New Delhi has also proposed holding a SCO joint anti-terrorist exercise in Manesar this year. The SCO is one of the largest plurilaterals, covering around 40% of the global population and 30% of the global GDP. The grouping comprises Russia, China besides India, Pakistan, Iran and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan is the SCO chair in 2022 and will hold the summit in September. India will hold the SCO summit next year.