In an interview with the Chinese People’s Daily Online, the Iranian ambassador said that the SCO also aims to help offer better solutions to the issues faced by its member states, as well as the region.
In a question on the importance of Iran’s joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Keshavarz-Zadeh said that the SCO has member states from Central and Eastern Asia, as well as other regions, and can serve as a platform for Iran to develop ties with all of those countries.
The SCO is the only organization in the world, which has no Western state as its member, he said, adding that Iran will see benefits of such an organization in the future.
In response to another question that some Western countries compare the SCO with NATO, the Iranian envoy said that such a comparison is wrong, because the SCO is an inclusive organization, and unlike NATO, it is not a military alliance.
The SCO was not established during the Cold War. It is an organization for cooperation, which has been formed with the aim of achieving a win-win situation and offering better solutions to the issues that the Asian countries face, he added.
The Iranian envoy also said that the SCO seeks global peace and aims to improve the world order, but NATO seeks to be dominant and has created conflicts in Europe, like the ongoing one between Russia and Ukraine. That’s while, he added, the SCO does not want to be dominant, which is the reason why it is successful.
“The policies and performance of NATO are weakening the world peace,” the ambassador stressed.
On fighting terrorism, Keshavarz-Zadeh said that Iran is one of the victims of terror, and having cooperation with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization would help the country uproot terrorism.
The Iranian envoy, speaking on the West’s criticism of the human rights situation in China, said that Western countries, including the US, are using the human rights issue as a tool to interfere in China’s affairs and pressure the country in order to create hurdles in its path of progress that’s taking place very fast.
And, on bilateral relations between Tehran and Beijing, Keshavarz-Zadeh said that China is the biggest trade partner of Iran; the two countries have good ties, with their leaders constantly being engaged in close contact.
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