Iran’s Full Membership Will Give a Boost to SCO Capacity

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said he is confident that Iran’s full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will provide the SCO with a growing capacity.
Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a Friday phone conversation with SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming amid reports about the formal approval of Iran’s full membership next week.
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, IRNA reported.
Earlier on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that Iran will be formally approved as a member of the SCO. “At the upcoming meeting of heads of state on July 4, the full membership of Iran will be approved,” Lavrov said.
The top Iranian diplomat hailed efforts and cooperation by the SCO secretary-general to complete the process of the full membership.
Amir-Abdollahian said Iran is ready to take part in the SCO’s next meeting, which is scheduled to be held virtually.
He said Iran would officially introduce its coordinator to the organization’s secretariat in the coming week.
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 China, Russia, 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.
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. 

Leading Role 

Zhang said on Friday Iran’s full-fledged membership at the SCO would be officially announced during the next SCO meeting on July 4. As a full member, the Islamic Republic would then have all the rights as other member countries of the organization, he said. Iran plays a leading role in promoting the SCO objectives, the secretary-general stated.
On March 7, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi underscored the role the SCO could play in creating international convergence and confronting unilateralism.
Speaking with the visiting SCO secretary-general in Tehran, Raisi said that the SCO member states have “considerable manpower,” “rich resources,” and “vast geographical expanse” at their disposal.
“This has created extraordinary capacities for the organization [that it can use] to effectively confront unilateralism and play an effective role in creating regional and international convergence,” he added.
Zhang at the time lauded Tehran’s relations with other SCO member states, adding, “We are certain that, given its rich civilizational and historical background, Iran can serve as an active and productive member in expanding the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s field of action and strength.”
Iran has 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.
The SCO Council of Heads of State in New Delhi will be chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
All the SCO member states and observers, including Iran, Belarus, Mongolia, and Turkmenistan, have been invited to attend. The decision was taken due to “a totality of various factors.” Indian officials expressed confidence that the summit would produce notable outcomes.
India’s chairmanship of the SCO is marked by intense mutually beneficial cooperation, the country’s Ministry of External Affairs has said. Since September, India has hosted 134 SCO events, including 14 meetings at the ministerial level.
Besides Iran, Belarus is also expected to become a fully-fledged member of the Beijing-based grouping.
Noting the growing interest of other countries in the grouping, SCO’s Deputy Secretary-General Gregory Logvinov has said that the organization was becoming a “center of attraction” for nations wanting to avoid geopolitical confrontation.