DUSHANBE, August 9, 2014, Asia-Plus — Reports released by some media sources that new members will be admitted to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) during a Dushanbe summit do not correspond to the facts, one of members of the commission for preparation of the SCO summit in Dushanbe told Asia-Plus in an interview on August 9.
The commission member said on condition of anonymity that the issue of the procedure of the admission of new members to the SCO had been tabled to the summit’s agenda.
“If the SCO heads of state endorse draft documents on the procedure of the admission of new members, new members may be accepted to the Organization at the next SCO summit that will take place in Russia in summer 2015,” the source said.
The SCO foreign minister’s meeting that took place in Dushanbe last month adopted draft documents on the procedure of the admission new members to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Russian Radio reported on August 1 that the adoption of these documents at the next SCO summit will give the green light for admitting the four observer-states, India, Pakistan, Iran and Mongolia, to the six-member organization.
Documents will be submitted for the adoption to the SCO summit that will take place in Dushanbe in September, Russian Radio noted. At present, Tajikistan holds the SCO presidency.
The quartet has reportedly expressed their desire to join the SCO in the past few years. The four countries have taken part in economic and cultural projects of the organization as observer-states.
