Leaders of Six Nations Signs Joint StatementThe presidents of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan gathered Thursday afternoon in Shanghai to sign a leadership joint statement.Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kyrgyzstan President Askar Akayev, Tajikistan President Emomali Rakhmonov and Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov were all present at the ceremony. Uzbekistan Joins "Shanghai Five"Uzbekistan has been admitted to the "Shanghai Five", a co-operative mechanism launched in 1996 between China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.The statement also endorses Uzbekistan as a co-founder of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which is expected to be launched during the ongoing summit. |
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