India and Pakistan inched closer Friday to joining a regional security and economic bloc led by Russia and China, a move seen to boost the importance of the organisation.
"We expect that our partners will be able to accede as quickly as possible, by our next meeting in Kazakhstan" next year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after the two countries signed memorandums on joining, the Kremlin website said.
Putin spoke at the summit in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent of the bloc known as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
Putin added it was time to "work closely" on ensuring India and Pakistan are integrated into the organisation's cooperation mechanisms, which include regular meetings between member states' foreign ministers and heads of government.
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