FM says Iran determined to have active SCO role

Amirabdollahian made the comment on Monday during a meeting with Secretary General of the SCO Zhang Ming and his accompanying delegation in Tehran.

The top Iranian diplomat expressed gratitude for the efforts by the SCO secretary general and his secretariat to facilitate Iran’s permanent membership in the Central Asian organization.

According to Amirabdollahian, the Islamic Republic believes that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization can play a key role in new international security and economic arrangements, and that the promotion of economic cooperation helps boost lasting security.

The SCO secretary general, on his part, said that the presence of Iran, as a powerful and influential country in the region and the world, will undoubtedly help the SCO achieve its goals.

He expressed hope that Iran can have a more active role in the SCO once the country completes the last stage of its full membership process in the organization during its summit scheduled for May 4-5, 2023 in India.

The SCO is a central Asian political, economic, security and defense organization, which is the world's largest regional organization in terms of geographic scope and population.

It was founded in June 2001, and its main members are China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Iran has had an observer status at the organization, and in mid-September 2022, it signed a Memorandum of Obligations to become a permanent member of the SCO.

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