Iran is set to become a permanent member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in 2023, when India takes over as the bloc’s chairman. Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi arrived in the city of Samarkand on Wednesday to attend the SCO leadership meeting, becoming the first Iranian president to visit Uzbekistan in 20 years.
This summit will start the process of Iran becoming a full member of the SCO by 2023.
Speaking exclusively to India Today, Uzbekistan’s National Coordinator on SCO issues Rahmatullah Nurimbetov said, “Most importantly, we will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Iran, which will be part of the SCO during India’s presidency. Opens up Iran to become a full member. 2023 if it meets all obligations.”
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Iran signed a commitment document for member state status on Wednesday, which was announced by Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdullahian on Twitter. “We have now entered a new phase of diverse economic, commercial, transit, energy and cooperation,” he wrote.
He said the organisation’s secretary general “congratulated” Iran for its permanent accession and called it a “significant development”.
The summit will be “historic” as it enters its third decade, Rahmatullah Nurimbetov insisted, “The next president will go to India. India will be the first president. We are ready for the transformation of the SCO. Not just security and stability.” Very solid package of documents with new strategic approach not only in the traditional areas of development, digital transformation, connectivity and economy.
Iran achieved observer status in the organization in June 2005. The bid for its full membership was approved after a nearly 15-year wait during the summit in Tajikistan in September last year.
“The SCO will also see the expansion with the decision on the initiation of the process for Belarus membership. This does not mean that Belarus will be a full member during this summit, but will initiate the decision-making process. We also have the status of ‘Dialogue Partner’. to six countries, four of them from the Arab world and also Maldives, which is also a good neighbor of India,” he said.
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Afghanistan will not be represented at the SCO summit after the Taliban captured Kabul last year. The SCO national coordinator from Uzbekistan said that the SCO does not maintain official relations with Afghanistan after the events of last year and the main issue is the international recognition of the current Taliban government in Afghanistan.
“The SCO has temporarily suspended the partnership with Afghanistan, that is, relations between the SCO member states and the country,” Nurimbetov said.
The SCO Bloc, a political, economic and security alliance, was established in 2001 by China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and is recognized as the world’s largest regional organization with eight members and four observer states. Is.
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