Publish Date: 16 September 2021 - 20:05

Tehran, IRNA – An international relations expert Ali Asghar Zargar said that Iran's strategic cooperation with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members complements Iran's vision and approach to the East.

Zargar said in an interview with IRNA on Thursday that the SCO is a regional organization for multilateral cooperation in political, security, economic and cultural spheres, adding that it emphasizes maintaining and stabilizing the borders and national sovereignty of the countries, while these policies are opposed to the unilateralism policies of the US.

Considering the geographical extent and objectives of the organization, Iran's official and complete membership in this organization carries many political, security, and economic effects, he noted.

He further noted that Iran has been a serious supporter of the program of some member-states, especially Russia, in countering terrorism and drugs, and it has now actually joined the organization's goal, adding that Iran is practically on the north-south and east-west corridor, which can play its historical role despite the malice of some countries.

In addition, Iran's rich oil and gas energy resources are required by China and India along with Iran's strategic partnerships with the two states, along with Shanghai security cooperation, complementing Iran's vision and approach to the East, he highlighted.

Zargar underscored that economic cooperation between Iran and China on the one hand, and Iran and Russia on the other hand, in the form of long-term contracts, if accompanied by Iran's domestic development and investments, will lead to many economic and rapid development issues in Iran.

He went on to say that Iran's membership in the Shanghai Cooeration Organization as a powerful regional organization that counters the US and NATO influence and unilateralism and undermines their hegemony in the world could strengthen Iran's position in the Middle East, and even in the JCPOA negotiations with the presence of Russia and China as the two permanent members of the UN Security Council, Iran could get more concessions from the US to lift sanctions.

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