24th summit of SCO

24th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is being held in Astana, Kazakhstan between 2 and 6 July.
SCO is a permanent intergovernmental international organization.
- It was established in the year 2001.
- Its secretariat is in Beijing.
- Its objective is to increase relations between member countries in the fields of education, energy, tourism, environmental protection etc.
- SCO has 9 member countries –
- India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
- India became its member in the year 2017.