India on Thursday pitched for a “larger and more constructive role” in the six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as a full member and underlined that the grouping was “a promising alternative regional platform” to help stabilise Afghanistan.
“As we have emphasised at various SCO fora, India would be happy to play a larger, wider and more constructive role in the SCO as a full member, as and when the organisation finalises the expansion modalities,” Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said at the 12th SCO summit at the Great Hall of People in Beijing.
India, along with Iran, Pakistan and Mongolia, currently enjoy the status of observer at the SCO.
The SCO comprises Russia and China, the two regional giants and permanent members of the UN Security Council, and the energy-rich Central Asian states, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
“We welcome the general trajectory of the SCO towards expansion and redefinition of its role. We feel a wider and more representative SCO will be able to deal more effectively with the common challenges of security and development in our region,” he said.
