President Hu Jintao will set off for Russia on Sunday for the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit and the first official meeting of leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China, a group of rapidly emerging economies called BRIC.

The SCO summit will start next Monday in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Deputy Foreign Minister Li Hui told a press conference yesterday, with the BRIC summit following next Tuesday. In addition to the summits, he will pay a state visit to Russia and attend celebrations for the 60th anniversary of China-Russia diplomatic relations, Li said.

The SCO, a regional organization founded in 2001 in Shanghai, includes China, Russia and the central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.