After 16 years of being an observer member, Iran turned into a permanent one on September 17, when eight main member states endorsed the change of Iran's status during the 21st SCO Summit in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
In June 2001, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan organized a meeting in Shanghai, China, to announce a new organization and expand political and economic cooperation. The SCO is the successor to the Shanghai Five, which is a mutual security agreement formed in 1996 between China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. The SCO is the world's largest regional organization in terms of geography and population, covering three-fifths of the Eurasian continent. Some 40 percent of the world population and over 20 percent of global gross domestic product exists in the organization.
Iran joined the SCO in 2005. Now, following the country's full membership, it is time to wait and see what kind of changes will happen for the Iranian economy.
Since the SCO is not considered an economic treaty, it is not expected for such a mechanism to affect trade tariffs or provide workforce or have an impact on capital mobility. However, the membership can facilitate economic and trade relations between Iran and other member states of the organization.
The Islamic Republic can find good opportunities in energy and transportation fields, because there are both exporters and importers of oil and gas among the SCO member states.
Totally, the SCO with 20% of oil and 50% gas reservoirs can turn into one of the most important hubs of economy and energy in the world. Thus, Iran as an oil and gas exporters can expand its economic and trade ties with other member states.
Iran's trade ties with the SCO member states stand at 30,356,787 tons worth 15.154 billion dollars. Iran's main trade partner among the member states is China.
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