External Affairs Minister S M Krishna is leaving for China today on a three-day visit to attend the 12th six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization, SCO Summit to be held in Beijing. India and China are likely to hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the SCO summit. They are expected to review the progress in the key areas of their relationship. Regional issues like the controversial nuclear programme of Iran, including the coming US sanctions are the other issues likely to come up during the meeting. Krishna is representing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the annual Heads of State summit of the SCO. India has an observer status in SCO since 2005. The External Affairs Minister is also expected to meet
Vice Premier of China Li Keqiang. The SCO which comprises Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan was formed in 1996 mainly as a confidence-building mechanism to resolve border disputes.