AKIPRESS.COM - The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is beginning the process of integrating India into the organization fully, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

"We are beginning the process of fully-fledged inclusion of India into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization," Putin said during a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Russian city of Ufa is hosting an annual BRICS/SCO summits on July 8-10.

The SCO is a political, military and economic alliance of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

India currently has the observer state status in the SCO security bloc, alongside Mongolia, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

In September 2014, Pakistan and India formally applied to join the alliance.