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  • Jul 5th, 2005
  • Comments Off on Prime Minister arrives in Kazakhstan to attend SCO summit
Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz flew into the Kazakhstan capital Astana on Monday to attend summit of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) as Pakistan prepares to join the six-member regional grouping as an observer member. At the airport, Kazakhstan Health Minister Erbolat Dosodav, who is also Minister in Waiting, received the Prime Minister along with Deputy Foreign Minister Askar Shakivov and other officials.

The SCO Foreign Ministers' recommendation to grant Observer Status to Pakistan will be adopted by SOC summit meeting on Wednesday.

The SCO groups China, Russia and four Central Asian states - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan - with Mongolia as an observer.

Later, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz attended a dinner hosted by Kazakhstan President Nazarbayov in honour of the leaders attending the summit.

The Presidents of China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia attended the more than two-hour working dinner during which the SCO leaders welcomed Pakistan' joining the six-nation grouping as an observer.

They said Pakistan has an important role to play in the SCO for advancing its goals in the political, diplomatic and economic fields. The SCO leaders also appreciated President General Pervez Musharraf's vision of 'enlightened moderation'.

Shaukat Aziz apprised the SCO leaders of the recent economic achievements in Pakistan and the situation in the region. The SCO leaders appreciated Pakistan's economic progress under the leadership of President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and hoped it would continue to move forward on the road to progress.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was scheduled to meet President of Kazakhstan and Secretary General Shanghai Co-operation Organisation on Tuesday and the Chinese President and the Tajik President on Wednesday on the sidelines of the summit.

Established in 1996 as the 'Shan Five' to meet the need for regional security co-operation and confidence building, the group adopted its current name after admitting Uzbekistan as its sixth member.

The Shanghai group has pledged to forward the goals of political and economic co-operation in the region and collective security interests, including counter-terrorism.

The Prime Minister's entourage consists of Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, Minister for Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs Muhammad Ajmal Khan, Minister of State for Finance Omar Ayub Khan and other senior officials.

Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2005


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