Iran’s consideration of important arrangements like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the BRICS grouping is indicative of Tehran’s interest in participating in the efforts made by the aligned countries to establish a fair, exalted international system which is based on participation, President Raisi said.
President Raisi described the SCO as the symbol of the great civilizational family of Asia, which can open new horizons of regional integration and security-ensuring collaborations based on such features as justice, spirituality, and respect.
He also underscored deepening economic multilateralism as Iran’s strategy, and said that it has been seriously threatened by the United States that seeks to impose its demands and internal laws on other sovereign countries and the international system through bullying.
He noted that the United States has sought to use the coercion lever and its unilateralist approach is an impediment against countries in their pursuit of independent development.
The SCO needs new approaches and special measures in countering unilateralism and cruel sanctions, President Raisi said, mentioning forming a sustainable trade among SCO members as an example.
The Iranian President urged SCO members to finance logistic and trade facilitating projects, singling out inter-bank transaction and financing mechanism of the SCO and acceleration of free trade agreements and customs-related collaborations.
He underlined Iran's investment in developing the north-south corridor and highlighted the China-Central Asia-West Asia-Mediterranean Sea corridor as a big part of the solution to expansion of East-West Asia trade.
President Raisi said that Iran’s transportation capacity in the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, and the Indian Ocean are ready to serve strengthening of the SCO connection.
The Iranian resident also expressed Iran’s readiness to host the SCO healthcare cooperation secretariat, inviting SCO health minister to attend the first SCO health meeting in December in Tehran.
He highlighted the impacts of foreign intervention in the Middle East region and the US’ attempts to spread insecurity to other regions in Asia and called for a new security model in Asia based on joint development and deepening of multilateralism without foreign intervention.
Continuation of NATO policies in any form is a threat to different regions, Raisi noted, underlining the necessity of peace and security in the Caucasus and the necessity of respecting territorial integrity, sovereignty, and rejection of any changes to the recognized borders in the dispute between Azerbaijan Republic and Armenia.
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