Russian diplomat says membership of India, Pakistan to improve SCO’s economic, defense potential

MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/. The accession of India and Pakistan to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will improve its economic and defense potential, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov said at a meeting with SCO Secretary General Rashid Alimov, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "The parties thoroughly discussed preparations for the SCO summit scheduled to be held in Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana on June 8-9," the statement reads. "The two diplomats stressed that granting SCO membership to India and Pakistan will top the summit’s agenda as it is expected to improve the organization’s economic and defense potential." "Special attention was paid to the process of embedding the two new members into the SCO’s interaction mechanisms aimed at the development of cooperation," the statement adds. The Declaration on the Establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was singed in China’s Shanghai in June 2001 by six founding states - Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Pakistan, Iran and Mongolia currently enjoy observer status while Sri Lanka, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia and Nepal are dialogue partners. The membership process of India and Pakistan began in 2015. Read more