India, Pakistan join security organization with Russia and China

India and Pakistan have begun joining the China-Russia-led SCO regional security organization, following a two-day summit chaired by President Vladimir Putin.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which met in the Russian city of Ufa yesterday (July 10), said the invitation to join the two Asian countries India and Pakistan reflected an emerging "multipolar" world.

"The growth of the SCO is taking place at a complex stage in the development of international relations and amid the emergence of a multipolar world," the group said in a statement after the summit. "This process is accompanied by security challenges and threats, and growing instabilities and risks in other parts of the world."

The Russian President and the Indian Prime Minister shook hands at the SCO conference on July 10. Photo: AP

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the expansion was a springboard for the SCO to become one of the world's most dynamic organizations. "The time has come to reach out to the entire region," Modi said. "We have everything we need to succeed."

The addition of India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed neighbors, could also help ease years of friction between New Delhi and Islamabad. The two sides agreed in a private meeting that Mr. Modi would visit Pakistan next year.

Pakistani Prime Minister and Russian President. Photo: RIA NOVOSTI.

The SCO, a Eurasian security, political and economic organization, was founded in 2001 in Shanghai, China. It includes former Soviet republics and is seen as a platform for Moscow and Beijing to expand their influence in the region. However, the organization is still not a major force and Russia-China relations have not developed as quickly as Moscow hoped, despite a major gas supply deal last year.

The SCO has not invited Iran to join, despite Tehran's longstanding request for membership. The organization has said Iran can only join after reaching an agreement on its nuclear program with major powers. If Iran joins the SCO, the organization will control a fifth of the world's oil and nearly half the world's population.

According to VNE