The Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) was little-known when it was formed in 2001, but as President Hu Jintao prepares for its summit in Kyrgyzstan next Thursday, global attention is growing.
'Without doubt, the international community should pay attention,' said Sergei Shtogrin, a Russian parliamentary deputy who co-ordinates the State Duma group on relations with the National People's Congress.
'The SCO is working on big issues, particularly international security, and its countries make up one-quarter of the world's population.'
The SCO comprises the countries of a predecessor organisation, the Shanghai Five, that was created in 1996 - China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan - plus Uzbekistan.
At its inception, the SCO was a minor organisation that was not expected to last.
It focused on tackling regional terrorism, stopping the narcotics trade from Afghanistan and establishing a free-trade zone between member countries - issues that failed to receive widespread media attention.
But experts say all eyes will be on the SCO next Thursday and Friday when Mr Hu, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the other heads of member states gather for a summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and observe joint military manoeuvres in Chelyabinsk, Russia.
