Iran’s full SCO membership expected to be approved today
Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi is scheduled to address the 23rd summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Tuesday, which is expected to approve Iran’s full membership in the Asian organization.
For the first time, the Iranian president will attend the summit as a member of the organization, according to IRNA.
India, which holds the rotating chair of the organization, will host the eight-member SCO virtual summit on Tuesday.
Chinese state media reported that President Xi Jinping will attend the summit of the SCO alongside the leaders of Central Asian countries.
The Kremlin on Monday said President Vladimir Putin would also attend and address the summit.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Monday, “This membership is beneficial both for Iran and for the organization.” He added that it would have “positive effects on economic development” between member nations.
Earlier on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, “The full membership of Iran” would be approved at the summit, which will be chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Secretary General of the organization, Zhang Ming, had also said that Iran’s membership would be officially announced at Tuesday’s meeting.
“From July 4th, Iran will enjoy all the rights related to the member countries of the organization,” he told Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a phone conversation on Friday.
Amir-Abdollahian said that he is confident Iran’s membership in the organization will provide the SCO with a growing capacity.
He said the Iranian Parliament and administration, particularly the Foreign Ministry, have made substantial efforts to prepare and approve all the documents pertaining to the country’s full membership.
Iran first applied for membership in the alliance 15 years ago, but it took until 2021 for the request to be approved. Iran and the organization started a formal process for Tehran’s accession in March 2022. In September of the same year, Iran signed a memorandum of commitment to join the SCO. A month later, the Iranian Parliament approved the country’s accession.
The SCO is a diplomatic organization with eight members, namely, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, and Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Set up in 2001, the organization’s members work to tackle joint security issues, cooperate militarily and promote internal trade.
SCO membership was already in the cards, and Iran is also hoping to be quickly accepted into another grouping that excludes Western countries – the BRICS group with Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Iran can economically play an important role in the organization due to having a suitable infrastructure in transportation, including railways, roads, airports and ports, especially the Chabahar port in southeastern Iran.
On the other hand, the two largest energy importers in the world, namely, China and India, are members of the organization, and Iran, as one of the largest energy exporters, will have good opportunities to strengthen its energy cooperation with these countries within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.