Shanghai Cooperation: Pakistan seeks full membership, says Aziz

'The SCO is playing an ever-growing role, especially in the area of regional security,' says Sartaj Aziz.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said the country wants to be a full-fledged member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the potential of which is growing.

“The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is playing an ever-growing role, especially in the area of regional security,” he said in Tehran. “That is why Pakistan is taking an active part in its work even in the status of observer.”

“The next SCO summit due in September in Dushanbe is expected to adopt admission rules for new members, so we will exert more efforts to further our application for full-fledged membership,” Aziz noted.

Since many states of the region were SCO members, it could play an important role in securing peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2014.