Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries and observer nations began their annual summit here on Tuesday to discuss such issues as the global financial crisis and regional security, Xinhua reported.
The summit is attended by heads of state from SCO member countries -- China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and leaders from SCO observer nations -- Mongolia, India, Pakistan and Iran.
The SCO leaders are expected to discuss counter-measures for tackling the financial crisis as well as expanding inter-member economic cooperation.