Pakistan to become full member of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation tomorrow

Published June 7, 2017
Pakistan is set to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in its upcoming session in Astana, Kazakhastan.
Pakistan is set to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in its upcoming session in Astana, Kazakhastan.

Pakistan is set to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in its upcoming session in Astana, Kazakhstan which starts June 8.

In a statement released to the media, the Foreign Office (FO) has stated that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will participate in the 17th meeting of the Heads of State Council (HoSC) of the SCO on June 8-9 in Kazakhstan.

While there, the PM will hold bilateral meetings with other leaders on the sidelines of the summit. PM Sharif will also attend the inauguration ceremony of the International Expo 2017, which will host 100 participating countries, including Pakistan.

Pakistan, which has been an observer at the SCO since 2005, applied for a permanent membership in 2010. According to the FO spokesperson, "The decision, in principle, to give membership to Pakistan was taken by the SCO Heads of States in a meeting held in Ufa, Russia, in 2015".

In the press release, the FO stated that Pakistan had been actively participating in the organization's activities as an observer and that it fully subscribes to the "Shanghai Spirit".

The statement further added that Pakistan shares "historical and cultural links, as well as strong economic and strategic complementarities" with members of the SCO.

It stated that the SCO will help Pakistan advance its interests regional peace, stability and development and its support for regional cooperation against terrorism and extremism.

India is also set to be included in the SCO in the upcoming Summit in Astana. In becoming full members of the SCO, Pakistan and India will join the ranks of current members Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

THE Punjab government would be keen to forget its first year of treating smog as ‘a year-round epidemic’ instead...
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.