World |
Expanded SCO Members | |
National flags of Pakistan and India are raised at SCO headquarters in Beijing | |
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SCO Secretary General Rashid Alimov, Chinese Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Kong Xuanyou, Pakistani Ambassador Masood Khalid, Indian Ambassador Vijay Gokhale (from left to right) hit the Shanghai Spirit Drum during the flag-raising ceremony at the SCO headquarters in Beijing on June 15 (COURTESY OF EMBASSY OF PAKISTAN)
A ceremony of raising national flags of India and Pakistan, the newly admitted Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states, was held at the SCO headquarters in Beijing on June 15. The leaders of all SCO’s six founding states, including China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, granted India and Pakistan membership on June 9 at the 17th SCO summit, held in Astana, Kazakhstan. Attending the flag-raising ceremony, SCO Secretary General Rashid Alimov said that it was a historic decision to accept Pakistan and India as full-fledged members and all eight members will be united by the “Shanghai Spirit.” The flag-raising of India and Pakistan was followed by address of the two ambassadors of the two countries. Masood Khalid, Ambassador of Pakistan, said that June 9 symbolized the start of a new journey for Pakistan and pledged to work for a shared vision of common development. The ceremony concluded with the Shanghai Spirit Drum being hit by ambassadors of Pakistan and India. Accession of India and Pakistan is the SCO’s first-ever membership expansion since its establishment in 2001. With this, the SCO covers three-fifths of Eurasia, and has nearly half the world population. SCO Secretary General Rashid Alimov (right) and Pakistani Ambassador Masood Khalid (left) watch Pakistan's national flag raising at the SCO headquarters in Beijing on June 15 (COURTESY OF EMBASSY OF PAKISTAN) |
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