India at the SCO Heads of Government Meeting in Dushanbe: Trade and Connectivity in Focus
India's Defence Minister will lead the Indian delegation at the 25th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government (CHG) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on 19 and 20 October 2026.
According to the Ministry of Defence, the meeting will focus on cooperation among SCO members in trade, economy, investment, connectivity, innovation and cultural-humanitarian exchanges. Members will also review ongoing projects and take decisions on the SCO's finances and institutional working.
The agenda is expected to cover trade and investment, transport and logistics, industrial cooperation, the creative and digital economy, innovation and financial cooperation.
At an SCO meeting of trade ministers in Dushanbe in September 2026, India called for simpler customs procedures, paperless trade, electronic exchange of documents and stronger multimodal connectivity (moving goods by a mix of sea, rail and road). It also pointed to cooperation in agriculture, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, electronics, energy security, renewable energy and green hydrogen, and called for more digital and cross-border payments and better trade finance for MSMEs and start-ups.
The CHG approves the SCO's budget and handles economic cooperation. It meets every year and is different from the Council of Heads of State, the SCO's highest body. The previous CHG meeting was held in Moscow on 18 November 2025, where India was represented by its External Affairs Minister.
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a regional group of ten countries, mostly in Europe and Asia (Eurasia), that work together on security, trade, energy, transport and culture. It was set up in 2001 in Shanghai, China. Its members include China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, the Central Asian countries and Belarus. Together, they hold more than 40% of the world's population, which makes the SCO one of the largest regional organisations in the world by population and area.
The Dushanbe meeting is the SCO's Council of Heads of Government, the body that approves the budget and drives economic cooperation. India is using it to push its trade and connectivity agenda: lower trade costs, paperless customs, better supply chains and multimodal transport links with Central Asia.
International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC)
The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a network of sea, rail and road routes that connects India to Russia and Northern Europe through Iran, the Caspian Sea region and Central Asia. It lets cargo move between India and Russia without going all the way around through the Suez Canal. It is one of India's main tools for reaching Central Asia, since a direct land route through Pakistan and Afghanistan is not available.
India's call at the SCO for stronger multimodal connectivity points directly to corridors like INSTC and Chabahar, which combine ships, trains and trucks. Since Russia, Iran and the Central Asian states are all SCO members, the SCO is a natural platform for India to push for faster customs, better rail links and smoother payments along this corridor.
- Meeting: 25th SCO Council of Heads of Government, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 19–20 October 2026
- India represented by: Defence Minister
- Previous CHG meeting: Moscow, 18 November 2025 (India represented by the External Affairs Minister)
- CHG role: approves the SCO budget, focuses on economic cooperation; meets annually
- Highest SCO body: Council of Heads of State
- SCO trade ministers' meeting in Dushanbe: September 2026; India called for paperless trade, simpler customs and multimodal connectivity
- SCO members: 10; Secretariat Beijing; RATS Tashkent
- India became a full member: 2017; hosted CHG first in 2020; chaired the SCO in 2023