‘BD’s joining SCO crucial as India-China signal new openings’

Al Mamun Harun Ur Rashid :

Bangladesh is conspicuously absent from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), one of the world’s largest regional groupings spanning Eurasia, South Asia, and Central Asia while India-China relations signal new openings.

Analysts argue that Dhaka cannot afford to remain on the sidelines any longer. With both India and China signaling cooperation at this year’s summit, experts say Bangladesh’s participation – whether as a member, observer, or dialogue partner – would open up economic, diplomatic, and strategic opportunities vital for the country’s future.

“The SCO has been around for a long time. I don’t think this it will bring a big change in South Asia. But one thing is clear this time: the world is moving towards multipolarity,” said international analyst and former Dhaka University Professor Imtiaz Ahmed.

“Moving away from unipolar or bipolar structures, this proves that even within the SCO, new forums can emerge for members’ economic benefit,” he observed.

The SCO, founded in Shanghai in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, has grown into a bloc of 10 full members, including India, Pakistan, Iran, and most recently Belarus.
Its combined population accounts for over 40 percent of the world’s total population.

The grouping has become a platform not only for security cooperation but also for trade, energy, infrastructure, and cultural exchange.

The latest summit, held in the Chinese city of Tianjin, underscored the bloc’s growing importance.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived on his first visit to China in seven years, meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines.

Xi told Modi that China and India are “partners, not rivals,” emphasising that both countries represent development opportunities for each other, not threats.

For a region often marked by mistrust and rivalry, that message was striking. Ahmed sees it as a potential turning point.

“The kind of friendship India and China have spoken of, not rivalry, is encouraging,” he said. “If they keep their commitments, it may bring a new change in South Asia.”

A cooperative relationship between the two Asian giants, representing a combined 2.8 billion people, could bring ripple effects across the subcontinent.

Analysts note that greater stability between Delhi and Beijing would improve trade flows, investment prospects, security and energy connectivity in the broader South Asian region.

Yet Bangladesh, despite its strategic location between India, China, and the Bay of Bengal, remains outside the SCO framework.

This absence, Imtiaz Ahmed argues, is both puzzling and embarrassing.
“It is truly embarrassing that despite having bilateral or multilateral relations with all SCO members, Bangladesh is neither a member, nor an observer, nor even a dialogue partner,” he said.

“The foreign ministry bears a huge responsibility here over the years. Bangladesh was not even invited to this summit. Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives are dialogue partners.

Among SAARC countries, India and Pakistan are members. Even Afghanistan is an observer state. Only Bangladesh and Bhutan are completely absent.”

For Dhaka, the stakes are high. By not participating, the country risks losing influence in a forum that is increasingly shaping regional politics, economics, connectivity and security.

Imtiaz Ahmed believes Bangladesh must act quickly. “I believe in the future Bangladesh will be included in some form. The country should take initiatives now so that it can eventually become a member.

An elected government should move on this matter to ensure that in the next summit, Bangladesh is connected in some way,” he stressed.

Analysts point out that joining the SCO would expand Bangladesh’s economic connectivity across Central Asia, Russia, and China.
It would also help the country balance its ties between Delhi and Beijing, neutralising criticism that Dhaka is leaning too close to China or moving away from India.

Participation would give Bangladesh access to SCO’s counterterrorism and security-sharing mechanisms and provide it with greater diplomatic visibility in global forums.

Ahmed summarised it clearly: “If Bangladesh joins, it will gain in many ways. Since India is a member, Bangladesh’s membership will neutralise the criticism that the country is leaning too close to China or moving away from India. To move forward, Bangladesh must connect itself with all forums.”

With Modi’s visit marking a thaw in Sino-Indian relations and discussions focusing on cooperation in energy, transport, and the digital economy, Bangladesh’s absence is conspicuous.

Foreign policy observers argue that while Bangladesh has long balanced its ties with India and China, SCO membership or observer status would institutionalise that balance within a multilateral framework.

It would also prevent smaller South Asian states from leaving Bangladesh behind, as Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and even Myanmar already hold dialogue partner status.

Securing observer or dialogue partner status would be a logical first step, easing the country into the framework without immediate full membership. Over time, stronger participation could follow. But that will require a clear directive from the next government.

As Imtiaz Ahmed warned, “Bangladesh should take initiatives now… an elected government should move on this matter to ensure that in the next summit, Bangladesh is connected in some way.”

With the SCO poised to play a greater role in defining multipolar cooperation, Bangladesh should now push member states to include it in the forum for shaping its economic and strategic trajectory in the years to come.