MOSCOW, July 4 (RIA Novosti) - Iran, India and Pakistan will be given observer status at a July 5-6 summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), an international organization uniting four Eurasian states and China.
"The summit will formalize observer status for Iran, India and Pakistan," Sergei Prikhodko, an aide to the Russian president said.
The SCO member countries are Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Mongolia has observer status.
Prikhodko said the summit, which will be held in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, was expected to make a great impact, particularly given that Iranian, Indian and Pakistani delegates would arrive as observers. He continued that the observers would send high-ranking delegations, headed respectively by Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad.
Prikhodko also said that some other countries, including United States, had expressed an interest in the summit, before adding that the Kremlin viewed the SCO as one of the most effective regional organizations. According to him, this is mainly because SCO leaders elaborate positions themselves, without mediators.
The aide said that the SCO forum created opportunities for a clear and frank dialogue on current problems, including Central Asia and Afghanistan.
Prihodko said all the countries in the region faced "similar challenges - terrorism and drug trafficking." He said: "Every country is in favor of increasing economic cooperation, and real interaction rather than single protective measures, subsidies and bonuses."
Prikhodko said Russian President Vladimir Putin would hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia.
