The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) holds its sixth summit on Thursday in Shanghai. The following is a brief introduction to the five-year-old regional organization.

Founded in Shanghai on June 15, 2001, the SCO comprises China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It covers an area of over 30 million square kilometers, or about three fifths of Eurasia and the combined population of the member states amounts to 1.489 billion, accounting for about a quarter of the world's total.

According to its Charter and the declaration on the its establishment, the SCO works to strengthen mutual trust and good- neighborliness and friendship among member states, develop effective cooperation in a wide range of areas, work together to maintain regional peace, security and stability and promote the creation of a new international political and economic order which is fair, reasonable and democratic.

The basic principles of the SCO include adherence to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter; respect for each other's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, non- interference in each other's internal affairs, mutual non-use or threat of use of force; equality among all member states; settlement of all questions through consultations, non-alignment and not targeting at any other country or organization; openness and willingness to carry out all forms of dialogues, exchanges and cooperation with other countries and relevant international or regional organizations.

The highest SCO organ is the Council of Heads of State, which meets once every year alternately among member states. The host country assumes the SCO's rotating presidency

The two permanent institutions are the Beijing-based Secretariat and the Tashkent-based Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS).

Mongolia, Pakistan, India and Iran are observers of the SCO.

Source: Xinhua