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A top Chinese official on Wednesday ruled out any decision beingtaken on granting membership status to India and Pakistan whenheads of state from the six-member Shanghai CooperationOrganization (SCO) meet here on June 6, stressing that "notime table should be set" on expanding the security grouping. Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping told reporters that it was thecommon view of the organisation that SCO observers India, Pakistan,Iran and Mongolia, who have been pushing for membership status formore than three years, still needed to do more in the way ofpreparatory work while the members – China, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – would keep"an open attitude". External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Pakistan President AsifAli Zardari will attend the SCO Beijing Summit on June 6 and 7, Mr.Cheng said. "We welcome relevant countries to become members of theSCO," he said. "The relevant countries should work hard towards political,legal and technical preparations for [membership]. The relevantwork is going on about expansion of membership. The decision shouldbe made through consensus and consultation, and no timetable shouldbe set. That is to say, when the conditions are ripe, the decisionshould be made through consensus." Afghanistan is expected to join the SCO as an observer at theBeijing summit while Turkey is set to be granted status as adialogue partner. The June summit, which is the twelfth meeting of SCO heads of stateand the third to be held in China, will mark the first instancesince 2005 when the grouping has admitted a new observer. Sri Lankaand Belarus were taken in as dialogue partners in 2010. The situation in Afghanistan and the Iranian nuclear issue arelikely to top the summit's agenda. Presidents Hamid Karzaiand Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are expected to attend the June summit andalso hold talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines. A greater role for the SCO's members in Afghanistan in theaftermath of NATO agreeing plans earlier this week to transfercombat operations to Afghan security force by mid-2013 will be inthe spotlight. "Afghanistan has a special geographical position," Mr.Cheng said. "It is close to SCO members geographically andthe Afghan issue has remained unresolved for a long time. And thathas had a serious impact on the regional situation." "The SCO," he added, "has kept close cooperationwith Afghanistan on the issue. We support the Afghan peopleadministering Afghanistan and national reconciliation. We have alsoprovided economic assistance through multilateral and bilateralchannels. In time to come, we will cooperate with the UN as wealways do and we will continue to play a more positive role in thisprocess." Mr. Cheng was careful to stress that the SCO's role could notbe compared to that played by NATO, pointing out that as "ithas no military functions, it cannot be compared to NATO." A small group meeting of member states will be held in Beijing onJune 6, while a larger meeting, a business summit and a signingceremony will be held on June 7. Mr. Cheng said the Beijing Summit's focus would reflect thegroup's evolution from an initial security focus on combatingthe "three forces" of separatism, extremism andterrorism to "working to build a new type of state to staterelations and a more just and equitable international order." Reflecting its broadening agenda, the group is expected to put outa political statement which will stress its opposition toincreasing Western pressure on Iran, which is an SCO observer. "We believe the Iranian nuclear issue should be resolvedthrough peaceful negotiations," Mr. Cheng said, reiteratingChina's opposition to demands from the U.S. for newsanctions. "We are against using bilateral sanctions todamage other countries' normal trade relations with Iran." The summit will also discuss boosting counterterrorism cooperation,which has been the security grouping's primary focus sinceits founding in 2001. The heads of member states will adopt acooperation programme for 2012-14 to tackle terrorism, and wouldannounce specific plans "to effectively curb activities ofthe three forces", Mr. Cheng said. Asked about interest expressed by observers, including India, to bemore closely involved in counterterrorism exercises, Mr. Cheng said"SCO member states have realised the need to increasecooperation to fight terrorism" to respond to the"complex international situation" on account of eventsin West Asia and North Africa. On the economic front, an inter-governmental agreement on roadtransport will be signed while discussions on establishing an SCOproject financing safeguard mechanism and a regional developmentbank will continue, Mr. Cheng said. I am an expert from idaccessory.com, while we provides the quality product, such as China Badge Slot Punch , Badge Holder Clip, ID Card Holder Lanyard,and more.
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