Russia to participate in Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi departed to Moscow on Monday to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization three-day summit will be started in St. Petersburg on Monday. It is expected that several issues including global economic crises, reconstruction and national reconciliation of Afghanistan would take centre stage at this years' SCO summit. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a regional inter-governmental organization which has been set up to strengthen multi-lateral security cooperation between its member states. In 2001, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was set up to strengthen cooperation between the six countries of Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In subsequent years, Mongolia, Pakistan, India and Iran joined the SCO as 'observer nations'.