SCO's Expansion Not Stipulating Reforms to Organization

According to Russia's Special Presidential Envoy to the SCO Bakhtier Khakimov, the planned accession of India and Pakistan to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) does not imply reforming the organization.

TASHKENT (Sputnik) – The planned accession of India and Pakistan to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) does not imply reforming the organization, but certain mechanisms will have to be adjusted, Russia's Special Presidential Envoy to the SCO Bakhtier Khakimov said Tuesday.

“There will be no reform to the SCO. However, there is an ongoing process of expansion. The prospect of the new members’ accession will require adjustment of cooperation mechanisms,” Khakimov told reporters on the sidelines of the SCO Foreign Ministers Council held in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent.

According to the Russian envoy, the expansion of the SCO means that there will be “new nuances” in the framework of the SCO Secretariat and the National Coordinators Council meetings.

The SCO is a political, economic and military alliance comprising Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The decision to commence the process of inclusion of India and Pakistan as member states in the organization was made during the July SCO summit in the Russian city of Ufa last year.