Iran's full-scale admission to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the signing of a memorandum on the obligations of Belarus to join the SCO are scheduled for July 4 at the Council of the Heads of State of the organization. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the presentation of the SCO National Center of People's Diplomacy.
"At the upcoming July 4 meeting of the [organization's] Council of the Heads of State, Iran's full-fledged membership will be formalized, and a memorandum on Belarus' commitments will be signed, which will also launch the procedure for its full-fledged admission to the Shanghai [Cooperation] Organization," he said.
In addition, Lavrov pointed out that the organization also welcomes new dialogue partners. "From now on, the Shanghai space, together with new members and dialogue partner states, extends from Europe and the Middle East to South and Southeast Asia," he added.
"Of course, additional applications from interested countries are still being considered," the head of the Russian diplomatic mission concluded.
The SCO was founded on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai. The organization currently includes eight countries: its founders Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, as well as India and Pakistan, which joined in 2017.
New Delhi chairs the SCO in 2023. The organization's summit is scheduled for July 4. According to the Indian foreign ministry, the meeting of the SCO leaders will be held in a virtual format.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: آرش (Arche)/Creative Commons 3.0
Based on materials from TASS