India pushed for the use of English as one of the primary working languages of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which has Mandarin and Russian as its official languages.
The Indian initiative to make English a working language has received immense support, as per sources. “This is something that has been heavily emphasised by other members as well, and there is an emerging common understanding.”
Russian and Mandarin languages are also used in the group’s materials. Four Central Asian nations, in addition to Russia and China, are among the SCO’s founding members, and Russian is widely spoken and written.
“During the SCO meeting, the focus will be on promoting English as a language other than Russian and Chinese. With the other members, this point has been emphasised repeatedly. India will lead two working groups: innovation and startups and traditional medicine,” sources said.
India is currently hosting a two-day SCO CFM in Goa, and the most crucial task for the SCO Foreign Ministers is to evaluate the progress of decisions that will be approved at the SCO Summit in New Delhi in July.
With an emphasis on regional, military, and political issues, India won the group’s presidency at the Samarkand summit last year and is currently hosting important ministerial discussions in the lead-up to the SCO summit in July.
The Secretariat of the SCO is in Beijing. The SCO comprises eight member states, such as India and Pakistan, China and Russia, and the Central Asian states Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.