President Mamnoon Hussain will lead the Pakistan delegation to the meeting of the Heads of States Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tashkent scheduled for June 23-24, 2016, Foreign Office said. SCO is an important organisation founded in Shanghai in 2001. Its member- states include China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The SCO Heads of States Council (HSC) is the highest decision-making body of the Organisation.
Pakistan was invited to start the process of becoming full SCO member at the Heads of State Council meeting held in Ufa, Russia in July 2015. "Pakistan is expected to sign the 'Memorandum of Obligations' at Tashkent which will be major step towards becoming a full member of the SCO," said Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria. Prior to that, as an Observer State of the SCO, Pakistan had been making substantive contribution to regional peace, security and development, he added.
The SCO comprises six Member States, five Observers and three Dialogue Partners. Established in June 2001, Pakistan became an Observer in SCO in 2005 and was the first country to apply for full membership in 2010. The SCO aims to strengthen friendly relations amongst states, maintenance of peace, stability and security in the region, building a new, just and rational international political and economic order, joint efforts in combating terrorism, extremism, separatism and the menace of narcotic substances. According to the spokesperson, President Mamnoon Hussain will also hold important bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the SCO Summit.