SCO Agreement on Mass Media Cooperation | 03 Jun 2021

Why in News

The Union Government approved the signing and ratification of an Agreement on ‘Cooperation in the field of Mass Media’ between all the Member States of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

• The Agreement was signed in June 2019. It will provide an opportunity for the Member States to share new innovations and best practices in the field of Mass Media.

Key Points

• Main Areas of Cooperation:
  
  • Creation of a favorable system for mutual and wide distribution of information via Mass Media in a bid to deepen the knowledge about the lives of the people of their States.
  • Cooperation among the Editorial Offices of the Mass Media of their States as well as between the relevant Ministries, Agencies, and Organizations in the field of Mass Media.
  • Promoting equal and mutually beneficial cooperation between professional associations of journalists of the States.
  • Aiding broadcast of television and radio programs and those distributed legally within the territory of the State.
  • Encouraging the exchange of specialists and experience in the field of Mass Media, offer mutual assistance in training media professionals, and promote cooperation between scientific research and educational institutions in the field of Mass Media.
• Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO):
  
  • About:
    
    • SCO is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation.
    • It’s a Eurasian political, economic and military organisation aiming to maintain peace, security and stability in the region.
  • Formation:
    
    • It was created in 2001.
    • The SCO Charter was signed in 2002, and entered into force in 2003.
  • Official Language:
    
    • The SCO's official languages are Russian and Chinese.
  • Members:
    
    • Eight countries are part of SCO, which are: Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.
  • SCO has two Permanent Bodies:
    
    • SCO Secretariat in Beijing (China), and
    • Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent (Uzbekistan).
  • The Chairmanship of SCO is by rotation for a year by Member States.
    
    • The Republic of Tajikistan has assumed chairmanship of SCO for 2021-22.
  • The 20^th Summit of the SCO took place in 2020.
  • Recently, the Vice President of India has launched the first ever SCO Online Exhibition on Shared Buddhist Heritage.

Source: TH