Members of a major international forum led by China and Russia have gathered for talks in Pakistan. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is widely seen as an attempt to counter the West's geopolitical clout.

The main meeting kicked off on Wednesday in Islamabad.

The SCO launched in 2001. There are currently 10 members including Iran, India, Pakistan and the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Belarus, a key ally to Moscow, officially joined in July.

The delegates included Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

India's top diplomat was also there. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar became his country's first foreign minister to visit Pakistan in almost a decade. The neighbors share a past riddled with conflict.

The SCO's members discussed ways of boosting economic and security ties.