Sunday, July 3 2005 11:58 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh will leave New Delhi tomorrow (July 4, 2005) for Kazakhstan to represent India as an observer at the fifth Summit of the Shanghai Corporation Organisation (SCO), opening the doors for strengthening economic and strategic links with the Central Asian republics.

The meeting at the Kazakh capital, Astana, is being attended by Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and leaders of key Central Asian countries.

A formal decision is expected to be taken to give India, Pakistan and Iran the observer status. SCO foreign ministers had given their nod for this last month. Pakistan will be represented by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

The SCO was formed in 2001 by six countries, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, to promote confidence building and demilitarisation along the former Sino-Soviet border.

However, in the years of Taliban-held Afghanistan, the combat against Islamic terrorism had been on the top of its agenda.

Gradually the organisation expanded its ambit covering cooperation in political, economic, and other spheres in the region.

With the support of Beijing, Islamabad had applied for the SCO membership in 2001, a move blocked by Russia and its Central Asian allies, who wanted a full membership for India which has emerged as an economic powerhouse in the region.