China, Russia welcome Afghanistan as SCO observer

2012-06-06 10:57:50 GMT2012-06-06 18:57:50(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) -- China and Russia said they welcome the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's (SCO) inclusion of Afghanistan as an observer state, according to a joint statement issued Wednesday.

The statement was released during Russian President Vladimir Putin's three-day state visit to China, where he also attends the 12th meeting of the Council of Heads of Member States of the SCO, being held in Beijing from Wednesday to Thursday.

China and Russia support Afghanistan's efforts to build itself into a stable, independent country of peace and development, free from terrorism and drug-related crimes, according to the statement.

The two sides maintain that efforts should be concentrated on improving the existing mechanisms of cooperation -- such as the SCO -- concerning Afghanistan, so as to avoid inefficiencies caused by overlapped mechanisms.

Founded in Shanghai on June 15, 2001, the SCO groups China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

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