The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has played a vital role in promoting world peace and development, Sudheendra Kulkarni, former chairman of the Mumbai-based think-tank Observer Research Foundation, told Xinhua recently. The SCO, an intergovernmental organization, was founded in Shanghai in June 2001 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan joined as full members in 2017.
