The group has said it should play a stronger role in stabilizing Afghanistan because the threat of drugs and terrorism on their doorstep gives them a vital stake in the matter.

"The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is adjacent to Afghanistan so we want to see the peace and stability in this country," Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Guangya said in a briefing, but did not specify plans or proposals up for discussion.

Leaders from Afghanistan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Iran and India will take part as observers at the meeting that opens, on Wednesday, 14 October.

The SCO Prime Ministers in Beijing will also seek to strengthen efforts to fight drug trafficking, organized crime and terrorism, and work out details of China’s US$10 billion in loans to the SCO member states, Wang said.