Welcoming India and Pakistan as full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the leaders of the organisation on Friday said that the inclusion of the two South Asian countries carry historic significance for the outfit. According to Xinhua, a joint press communique released after the SCO summit in Astana said that granting India and Pakistan membership will boost the organization’s development and potential.
Founded in 2001, the SCO now has China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan as its full members, with Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia as observers, and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey as dialogue partners. The heads of state support the SCO to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with its observers and dialogue partners, the communique said.
The leaders believe that the SCO should actively participate in establishing a fairer and multipolar world, promote democratization of international relations, and build an efficient global and regional security and cooperation structure as well as a community of shared destiny for mankind, the communique said.
