SCO SIGNING CEREMONY AND NEWS CONFERENCE

(7 Jun 2012) China, Russia and four Central Asian states granted Afghanistan observer status in their regional grouping on Thursday, moving to boost their influence with the impoverished, war-torn nation ahead of the withdrawal of most foreign combat troops by the end of 2014. Chinese President Hu Jintao announced the plan at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's annual summit in Beijing. Russia and China have long seen the six-nation group as a way to counter US influence in Central Asia, and hope to play a significant role in Afghanistan's future development, especially in economic reconstruction. Granting Afghanistan observer status will strengthen their contacts, something Beijing and Moscow hope will dilute US influence and more closely align Kabul's policies with their own aims. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) also recommitted itself to closer security and economic ties and to combating drug trafficking, extremism and terrorism. After the morning discussions, Hu announced that the group had approved a mid-term development strategy aimed at turning the SCO into "a haven of harmony and amity." "We unanimously agreed that under the circumstances, where the international situation is changing profoundly and where terrorism, separatism, extremism and other transnational criminal activities are on the rise, it is up to the SCO member states to raise its capabilities in crisis early warning and emergency response so that the SCO will become a reliable guarantee for the effective maintenance of regional security," Hu said following the signature of the group's joint statement. Afghanistan, whose president, Hamid Karzai, attended the summit, joins India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan as SCO observer states. The group also admitted Turkey as one of its three dialogue partners. Underscoring China's growing economic dominance in Central Asia, Hu opened the summit by saying China would offer a 10 billion US dollar loan to support economic development and cooperation among SCO member states. No details were immediately given on how the money would be used. Despite the warming political ties, the SCO has yet to declare a unified strategy on Afghanistan and shows little sign of filling the void left by the withdrawal of U.S. and other foreign forces. The SCO was founded by five original members (originally known as the Shanghai Five) in 2001 and in the same year added Uzbekistan as a full member (thus nominally becoming the Shanghai Six). Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...