Raisi to Attend SCO Summit 

President Ebrahim Raisi is scheduled to head for Uzbekistan on Wednesday at the head of a delegation to participate in the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and hold talks on bilateral ties with Uzbek officials. 
The president’s trip to the historic city of Samarkand to attend the 22th SCO summit is at the official invitation of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, ISNA reported. 
Raisi will also hold a meeting with his Uzbek counterpart to sign a number of agreements aimed at boosting relations. 
The president is expected to hold talks with other heads of state who are to attend the SCO summit on Thursday and Friday. 
China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, India, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan are full members of the organization. Iran, Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia are observer states. 
The SCO approved Iran’s documents to become a full member last September at its 21st summit but finalization awaits the signing of the country’s first memorandum of obligations at the Samarkand summit. 
Iran is expected to be upgraded to full membership status by April 2023. 
This is the first time in the past three years and since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic that the leaders of the Eurasian political, economic and security alliance will meet face-to-face.