India and Pakistan may join SCO in 2017 - Putin

The SCO leaders officialy approved the Memorandum on India's obligations to become a SCO member, an Interfax correspondent reported. A similar document was signed with regard to Pakistan.

The process of accession by India and Pakistan was launched at the SCO summit in Ufa in July 2015.

Admission of India, Pakistan makes SCO very powerful - Putin

Uzbek President Islam Karimov said on Friday that the negotiations on accession  of  India and Pakistan to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) were "complicated."

"I will not conceal, the process of negotiations [on accession of India and Pakistan] was of rather hard and complicated nature. It should be accepted. But at least we succeeded at overcoming all the difficulties and coming to a single opinion, adhering to common strategic aims and SCO tasks," Karimov said.

Speaking at the SCO summit in Tashkent on June 24, Putin said New Delhi and Islamabad "must meet all the obligations to receive the status of member states."

The Russian president said he hopes the two countries will move toward full membership by the SCO's next summit in Kazakhstan in June 2017.

Putin also said there are no longer obstacles that would prevent Iran from joining the group.

Combined report is based on materials from Sputnik and Interfax.

Read more: What to expect from Putin's visit to China?

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