BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Turkey signed on a charter for a planned international space club on Thursday, making it the ninth member of the organization with headquarters in Beijing.

    Oktay Ozuye, Turkish ambassador to China, signed the Convention on the proposed Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO), which is designed to promote the peaceful use of space and space applications in the Asia-Pacific region.

    Among those witnessing the ceremony were diplomats from Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru and Thailand, the eight countries that signed the document last October in Beijing.

    Sun Laiyan, director of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), said China welcomes the move by Turkey to sign on the convention, and China will support, as always, the establishment and operation of the organization.

    China, Thailand and Pakistan initiated a proposal in 1992 on the formation of a multinational organization in a bid to promote cooperation in space technology and applications in the Asia and Pacific region.

    In August, 2003, officials from those countries agreed in Bangkok that APSCO headquarters would be located in China. Enditem