President Xi Jinping has attended every single SCO summit since he took office in 2012. Today, we begin our special series to follow his footprint. In our first episode, we take you to last year's historic summit, the first time the China-initiated organization expanded membership since its founding in 2001. Natasha Hussain reviews President Xi's time in Astana, where India and Pakistan joined the group.

The SCO witnessed its first-ever expansion in last year's summit held in the capital of Kazakhstan. The inclusion of India and Pakistan, both major regional players, shows the organization's growing appeal.

XI JINPING CHINESE PRESIDENT "Firmly committed to the Shanghai Spirit, SCO member states are making solid progress on the road of building a community of shared future, thus establishing a fine example of the new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation. In this context, today we are going to admit India and Pakistan as new member states of the SCO."

With New Delhi and Islamabad officially in, the eight-member bloc accounts for more than 3 billion people, or around 42 percent of the world's population. The SCO also represents over one-fifth of the world's GDP. That's more than 15 trillion dollars. The regional cooperation organization also covers the largest area of the world's territory.

Counterterrorism cooperation is an important issue. The expansion came at the right time, with South Asian countries looking to tackle terrorism.

XI JINPING CHINESE PRESIDENT "Security is the prerequisite for development. Without security, there will be no development to speak of."

The participation of India and Pakistan is expected to expand member states' economic cooperation from Central Asia to South Asia. It means the Belt and Road economic belt will embrace more opportunities and guarantees.