SCO summit opens in Russia's Ufa, set to launch enlargement

(L-R) Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon, Kyrgyzstan's President Almazbek Atambayev, Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov pose for a picture before their meeting during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Ufa, Russia, July 10, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

UFA, Russia - The 15th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit opened Friday in this southwestern Russian city, with the leaders expected to start an enlargement process for India and Pakistan.

The meeting, hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin and attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping and other SCO leaders, will focus on planning the organization's future development.

Xi is expected to deliver a speech proposing joint measures for tackling regional threats and challenges and boosting security cooperation, integration of development strategies, and people-to-people exchanges within the framework.

Among the documents expected to be released are an SCO development blueprint, a border defense cooperation agreement and a declaration on the 70th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War.

Meanwhile, as one of the biggest eye catchers in the Ufa summit, the SCO leaders are set to pass a resolution on starting the procedures of granting India and Pakistan full membership of the organization.

Founded in 2001, the SCO has China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as its full members, with Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan as observers and Belarus, Turkey and Sri Lanka as dialogue partners.