SCO summit opens, set to rope in India, Pakistan

Ufa (Russia), July 10: The 15th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit opened on Friday in this Russian city, with the leaders expected to start an enlargement process for India and Pakistan.

The meeting, hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin and attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping and other SCO leaders, will focus on planning the organisation's future development, Xinhua reported.

Among the documents expected to be released are an SCO development blueprint, a border defence cooperation agreement and a declaration on the 70th anniversary of the victory in World War II.

In one of the biggest eyecatchers in the Ufa summit, SCO leaders are set to pass a resolution on starting the procedures of granting India and Pakistan full membership of the organisation.

Founded in 2001, the SCO has China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as its full members.

Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan are observers while Belarus, Turkey and Sri Lanka are dialogue partners.

IANS