BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday said that India and Pakistan would complete the process of joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) during the upcoming Astana summit.
This would be the first time for the SCO to expand membership since its founding, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying at a daily press briefing.
After that, the SCO will become the world's most populous regional cooperative organization and the largest by area, which will bring unprecedented development capacity and cooperation potential, said Hua.
Noting that the work was progressing well, Hua said China sincerely hopes India and Pakistan could conduct friendly cooperation and improve ties after their joining the SCO, and inject new vitality into the development of the SCO.
India and Pakistan's SCO accession procedures started in 2015.
The SCO now covers China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
