Kyrgyz Parliament ratifies memorandum on accession of India and Pakistan to the SCO

BISHKEK, December 14 ( Kabar) – Members of Kyrgyz Parliament adopted on Wednesday a draft law on the ratification of the memorandum on the obligations of India and Pakistan in order to obtain the status of member-states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, signed June 24, 2016 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan Erlan Abdyldaev, who presented the draft-law said that the adoption of these countries to the SCO would expand the Organization geographically, the press service of the Kyrgyz Parliament reported. The Foreign Minister said that Russia has already sent a notice on completion of internal approval procedures, other countries are still implementing this procedure and the rest of them are on the stage of completion. "After ratification of the memorandum by other SCO member states, at the upcoming SCO Summit in Astana (Kazakhstan), India and Pakistan will be accepted as full members of the organization," the Kyrgyz Minister said. The procedure of accession of India and Pakistan to the SCO has started in July 2015. The SCO includes China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, observer states - Afghanistan, India, Iran and Mongolia.