The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, to be held in China's economic hub Shanghai on Thursday, will be broadcast live via China's Central Television Station (CCTV), China National Radio and China Radio International.

 

China's leading Internet news portal, www.xinhuanet.com, will also have real-time online coverage of the event.

 

Chinese President Hu Jintao, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov and Uzbek President Islam Karimov will be attending the summit, which is due to start at 9:00 AM Thursday.

 

At the summit, the presidents of the six SCO member countries are expected to review the organization's achievements in the past five years, outline objectives for future cooperation and exchange ideas on major international and regional issues.

 

Mongolian President Nambaryn Enkhbayar, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad and Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora will attend the meeting. The four countries hold SCO observer status.

 

Afghan President Hamid Karzai will attend the SCO summit as a guest of the host country.

 

The summit will also see participants from international organizations which have established cooperative relations with the SCO, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

 

(Xinhua News Agency June 15, 2006)