India and Pakistan Could Join SCO In 2017

Russian President Vladimir Putin has told the possibility that India and Pakistan could join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in 2017.

Speaking at the SCO summit in Tashkent on June 24, Putin said New Delhi and Islamabad “must meet all the obligations to receive the status of member states, RFERL reported.

He said the membership of India and Pakistan to the SCO will make the organization more powerful, influential and popular association at the SCO’s next summit in Kazakhstan in June 2017.

“Indeed, as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization expands its areas of operation and its membership through the participation of the powerful countries I have just mentioned [India and Pakistan], it turns into a very powerful international association that commands respect and is relevant both in the region and worldwide,” Putin said in an interview with China’s Xinhua news agency prior to his visit to China, Tass reports.

He said accession of Iran also would be possible after Iran’s nuclear problem was solved and the UN sanctions are lifted.

SCO leaders have been meeting in Tashkent since June 23 for talks that include regional security and the current situation in Afghanistan. The current members of the SCO are Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Iran, Mongolia, and Pakistan currently have observer status in the group.