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MADRID, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has created a new model of regional cooperation in which "economy and security are intertwined," a Spanish expert said Thursday.
Xulio Rios, director of the Observatory of Chinese Politics, said in his article published on the organization's website: "The SCO is shaping a new model of regional cooperation ... economy and security are intertwined with a growing strategic intensity in order to increasingly influence the global order."
Talking about the SCO's planned acceptance of two new members, India and Pakistan, Rios said: "The ongoing expansion reaffirms its willingness to be confirmed as a key strategic player in this century."
There are some strategic SCO projects currently going on, including the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Eurasian Economic Union with the additional tool of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), said the expert.
Founded in 2001, the SCO now has China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as its full members, and is expected to accept India and Pakistan as two new members. The bloc also has ten observers and dialogue partners in the Eurasia region.
