India to become member of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation this week

Modi called it a “logical extension of India’s age-old ties with the region” and said India was “grateful” to the SCO member-states for the support.

“I also welcome Pakistan as the new member of the SCO”, said the Prime Minister.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, however, has recently said that Beijing’s primary focus for the time being is making India and Pakistan full members of the organization after the organization made a decision to admit them previous year. It had put in its application in 2014 when SCO started inviting them from new members.

The membership will provide India an opportunity to have extended cooperation with members of the group, including China and Pakistan.

Ensuring peace, stability and security in the region, building a just and rational global political and economic order and combating terrorism and extremism have been the major focus areas of the SCO in the last few years.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (C front) attends the 16th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State meeting in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, June 24, 2016.

Putin and Xi met in Tashkent on the sidelines of the China-Russia-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

At the summit, India signed the SCO’s Memorandum of Obligations, kick-starting the process of its accession into the group as a full member.

Earlier Russian President Vladimir Putin told that India would India’s membership would be formally announced next year.

Modi is here for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, which is to kick off the process for India’s absorption as a member.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia and Pacific Affairs Ebrahim Rahimpour said the Syrian conflict was among the subjects discussed in the talks between the two foreign ministers. “So we will wait and see how that develops”, Mehta added.

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Founded in 2001, the SCO now has China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as its full members, with Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan as observers.