Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani will attend a session of the Council of Heads of Government of Shanghai Cooperation Organization member-states in the Russian city of St Petersburg on Monday, officials said, IRNA reported.
The Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has invited Gilani to attend the summit, Prime Minister's office announced.
The session will discuss issues of coordination among member-state to determine further steps aimed at developing trade, economic and humanitarian ties between the SCO member-states, observers and other regional partners, it said.
Premier Putin also in a letter expressed his willingness to meet Gilani on the occasion of the meeting of SCO Council of Heads of Government at St Petersburg.
Putin said that he is confident that the forthcoming session will promote the intensification of cooperation between the SCO member-states and Pakistan.
The SCO, an intergovernmental mutual-security organization, was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Pakistan has the status of observer along with India, Iran and Mongolia.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said the country is willing to become full member of this forum on account of its immense potential for dealing with common challenges. The Prime Minister will seek support of the member-states for Pakistan's quest to become a SCO member.
Gilani's visit will also provide an opportunity for exchanging views with Putin, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
'Pakistan-Russian bilateral relations are characterized by increasing mutual trust and commonality of interests. There is a strong desire on both sides to deepen and expand bilateral cooperation for their mutual benefit,' it said.
'The SCO is an important regional security organization whose profile and scope of agenda has assumed great importance over the years,' the statement said.
The SCO deals with issues of common regional concern, including regional trade, connectivity, energy cooperation, security-related collaboration, drug trafficking as well as extremism and terrorism.