"India and Pakistan have been given the green light for full membership in the SCO," Rashid Alimov, Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) said after a recent meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana.
During a two-day meeting last Thursday and Friday, the foreign ministers submitted draft decisions on completing the procedure to admit India and Pakistan into the SCO and to recognize their status as full-fledged SCO member states to the SCO Heads of State Council for consideration.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (C) speaks at a meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers in Kazakhstan's capital Astana on April 21, 2017. /Xinhua Photo
The two South Asian countries, currently observer states of the SCO, are expected to gain full membership at a meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council slated for June 8-9, 2017 in Astana. Their admission will mark the first expansion of the SCO after its foundation 16 years ago.
The admission of new member states is important for expanding and enhancing the SCO's potential, the foreign ministers stressed.
"After the expansion, the SCO will become a regional group covering the widest land area with the biggest population in the world," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, adding that SCO members should adhere to the Shanghai Spirit of equal treatment, win-win cooperation and open and inclusive attitudes and promote comprehensive political, security, economic and cultural cooperation.
SCO Secretary General Rashid Alimov (L) and Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Kairat Abdrakhmanov attend a joint press briefing for a meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers in Kazakhstan's capital Astana on April 21, 2017. /SCO Photo
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the accession of India and Pakistan to the SCO will make history and increase the organization's global influence, according to TASS news agency. "After India and Pakistan become members, the SCO will include as many as 43 percent of the world's population while its member states will account for 24 percent of global gross domestic product," he added.
The foreign ministers also exchanged views on the procedure to admit Iran as an official member, but the proposal was opposed by Tajikistan.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) shakes hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers in Kazakhstan's capital Astana on April 21, 2017. /VCG Photo
The SCO was created as a permanent intergovernmental international organization in Shanghai in east China on June 15, 2001, followed by the signing of the SCO Charter in St. Petersburg a year later. It currently comprises six member states, namely Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It also has six observer states and six dialogue partners.
China will assume the rotating presidency of the SCO after the Astana summit this June.
Related stories:
3658km
