Asian bloc eyes bigger role in 'peaceful' Afghanistan | WPN World People News

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, an Asian bloc led by China and Russia, Thursday sought a bigger role for "peaceful reconstruction" of Afghanistan ahead of NATO's planned pullout by 2014 from the war-torn nation that was given observer status in the regional grouping.

Chinese President Hu Jintao said that the bloc was managing regional affairs by itself and will continue to do so in a bigger way.

"We will continue to manage regional affairs by ourselves, guarding against shocks from turbulence outside the region, and will play a bigger role in Afghanistan's peaceful reconstruction," Hu told China's official People's Daily newspaper.

"We'll strengthen communication, coordination and cooperation in dealing with major international and regional issues," he said on the sidelines of the SCO's 12th summit held in the Chinese capital on June 6 and 7.

The group, founded in 2001, includes China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran, India, Pakistan and Mongolia attend its summits as observers but are not its full members.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai attended the 2012 summit as a guest. Afghanistan was granted "observer" status, meaning it can attend SCO meetings, but not vote.

The future of Afghanistan was the focus of the two-day meeting of the SCO with member countries fearing instability spilling across Central Asia as most foreign combat forces led by the US pull out of the country.

The group also opposed military intervention in Syria and noted that use of force against Iran to thwart its alleged military nuclear ambitions would be "unacceptable".

Source: The Asia News.Net