Iran A Full member of SCO next Week

By Staff, Agencies

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that Iran will officially join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization [SCO] as a full-fledged member at the group’s summit next week.

“At the meeting of heads of state on July 4, the full membership of Iran will be approved,” Lavrov said at the opening of an SCO center in Moscow on Friday.

Iran first applied for membership in the alliance 15 years ago, but it took until 2021 for the request to be approved.

The SCO, which has its headquarters in China, is a diplomatic organization with eight members, namely Russia, India, Pakistan, and the 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.

Iran and the organization started a formal process for Tehran’s accession to the bloc 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 to the organization.

The July 4 summit will take place in New Delhi via video conference.

Iran has recently engaged in an active diplomacy drive worldwide, strengthening bonds of friendship with neighboring countries and allies in other regions, notably Latin America.

Tehran has also requested to become a member of another global organization, the BRICS group with Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.