Iran To Join Shanghai Cooperation Organization In July

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said Thursday that his country's accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will be completed in early July.

RELATED:
Turkmenistan & Iran Sign 5 Cooperation Agreements And 3 MoUs

"We will become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in July, when the next summit of the association will be held," Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said.

The next summit will be held on July 4 under the chairmanship of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a virtual format. According to the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all SCO members will participate in the summit.

Iran, Belarus, and Mongolia have been invited as observers, while Turkmenistan is participating as a guest.

The Iranian Parliament passed a bill on the country's accession to the SCO by an overwhelming majority in November 2022. All founding members of the SCO have given Iran the green light to become a permanent member.

In September last year, the Uzbek city of Samarkand hosted the SCO summit, which was attended by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. On this occasion, Iran signed a memorandum of commitment to obtain member-state status in the association.

The organization was founded in June 2001 by Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It has since expanded its membership with the accession of India and Pakistan in 2017.