Ahmadinejad, Chinese counterpart dicuss regional, int’l developments

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad conferred with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the Tenth Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit slated to open in Astana on June 15.

Ahmadinejad and Hu Jintao discussed the level of Tehran-Beijing relations as well as the avenues for their development. They also focused on regional and international issues.

Ahmadinejad arrived in Kazakhstan Tuesday to take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting that will kick off on June 15.

President Ahmadinejad held private talks with his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev earlier on Tuesday.

Addressing the SCO session and talking with his counterparts on various issues of mutual interests are among President Ahmadinejad’s plans prepared for the trip.

During his two-day visit to Kazakhstan, the Iranian President is also scheduled to attend the trilateral meeting with participation of his Chinese and Russian counterparts.

This is the sixth year that Iran holds an observer status in the SCO.

The six SCO member states include China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an intergovernmental organization which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Except for Uzbekistan, the other countries had been members of the Shanghai Five, founded in 1996; after the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed the organization.