UFA (Russia) – Pakistan and India were accepted as full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Friday.<\/p>\n
President Vladimir Putin announced on Friday that Pakistan and India would join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a group dominated by Russia and China and also including former Soviet republics in Central Asia.<\/p>\n
Pakistan\u2019s full membership to the powerful SCO was approved by its Council of Heads of State at its 15th Summit.<\/p>\n
Russia sees the organisation, expanding for the first time since its creation in 2001, as a counterweight to Western alliances.<\/p>\n
Membership in the group potentially offers India greater access to the energy resources of Central Asia.<\/p>\n
The Beijing-based SCO currently has China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan as members. Along with Pakistan, the process to include India as a member was initiated here on Friday.<\/p>\n
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping had earlier told a news briefing that \u201cIndia and Pakistan\u2019s admission to the SCO will play an important role in the SCO\u2019s development and it will play a constructive role in pushing for the improvement of their bilateral relations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Addressing the summit, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called for a strong regional collective response to confront the challenges of extremism, terrorism and drug- trafficking.<\/p>\n
He said the region faced a volatile geopolitical environment and Pakistan\u2019s objectives of curbing extremism and enhancing border security were in line with those of the SCO. He said the SCO provided a useful forum to Pakistan in promoting peace and stability in South Asia, Afghanistan and Central Asia.<\/p>\n
\u201cCordial and mutually beneficial economic relations with SCO-member states will be our foreign policy priority,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that regional stability is the key to economic progress of nations,\u201d he said, adding that peace in Afghanistan and Central Asia was crucial to regional connectivity and trade cooperation.\u00a0\u201cThe spirit of SCO abhors hegemony and coercion in international affairs. It has a consensus based decision-making process, which instils confidence in its members.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The prime minister said SCO partners had an ambitious agenda to achieve and called for ensuring regional stability and further economic integration to realise these goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must work together to mitigate differences, resolve outstanding disputes and create a favourable environment for the betterment of our peoples. This is how the true Shanghai Spirit will be fully realised.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Sharif termed inclusion of India and Pakistan into the ambit of the grouping a \u201cturning point in the history of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said Pakistan offered critical overland and maritime routes for trade and energy connectivity within the SCO region and beyond.<\/p>\n
China welcomes expansion of SCO<\/span><\/h3>\n