Russia, China express support for India joining SCO

Russia and China Monday expressed support for India joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization after completing all the necessary formalities during the meeting of the trilateral Russia-India-China foreign ministers meeting here.

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, along with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and their Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, held political consultations during the ministerial trilateral in the Chinese capital.

The meeting acknowledged India's importance in growth and welcomed Indian participation in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), a forum for 21 Pacific Rim member economies that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

India is not a member of APEC. The three ministers also called for early conclusion of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism by the UN.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his maiden address to the UN General Assembly last September had called for all the nations to put aside their differences and mount a concerted international effort to combat terrorism and extremism. He had urged the nations to adopt the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.

The ministers also called to "bring to justice perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of terrorist acts", tweeted Indian external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.

The three ministers also called for synergy of various initiatives to improve regional connectivity in Asia.

The SCO, during its summit in Dushanbe in September last year had set the ball rolling to grant membership to India and also Pakistan and Iran to the China-dominated security grouping.

The SCO, which is increasingly seen as a counter to NATO, comprises China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It has Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan as observers and Belarus, Turkey and Sri Lanka as dialogue partners.India has been an observer at the SCO since 2005.