For the first time, India has officially sought full membership of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the central Asian grouping dominated by China and Russia, looked upon by many as an emerging counter-weight to NATO.

India will vie for full membership with rival Pakistan — which officially applied much earlier and has China's backing — at the SCO summit meet next month in Kazakhstan's Astana where the group will take up the expansion issue.

Both India and Pakistan, along with Iran and Mongolia, have observer status at SCO. The group, which exercises immense influence in the energy-rich central Asia on security and economic issues, comprises Russia, China, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan as full-time members. SCO has become crucial for regional peace and Afghanistan has also sought observer status in the group.

The Times of India