Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane is leading the Indian delegation to Kazakhstan for the annual meeting of the defence ministers of member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation during which the “regional security issues” within the SCO will be reviewed, officials said on Wednesday. Aramane is leading the delegation to Astana from April 25-26, the defence ministry said in a statement.
The meeting will review the regional security issues, including the defence cooperation initiatives, within the SCO, it said.

The defence secretary will deliver India’s statement at the ministerial meeting. He will also hold meetings with the defence ministers of the friendly countries of the SCO to discuss issues of bilateral defence cooperation, it said.

The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017.

In July 2023, Iran became the new permanent member of the SCO at an India-hosted virtual summit of the grouping.