What’s new: Iran has officially joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, becoming the group’s ninth permanent member, as the regional economic and security bloc continues promoting the assent of new members.
Iran’s accession was announced Tuesday during a virtual meeting of SCO Heads of State Council. It is the first addition in six years.
At a flag-raising ceremony for the new member held at the SCO Secretariat in Beijing, the organization’s secretary-general Zhang Ming congratulated Iran and said the nation’s formal membership will be conducive to maintaining regional security and stability, enhancing mutual trust and deepening cooperation among member states, according to a statement.
Iran is ready for “comprehensive and in-depth” cooperation with SCO members in fields including security, trade, transportation, agriculture, energy, and science and technology, Iran’s Ambassador to China Mohsen Bakhtiar said in the statement.
The background: Iran signed a Memorandum of Obligations to join the SCO in September 2022 at the most recent SCO leaders’ meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
During the meeting, they also began the procedure for Belarus to join the SCO and agreed to include Bahrain, the Maldives, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Myanmar as dialogue partners.
The SCO was established in 2001 with six member states: China, Russia and four Central Asian countries. The group completed its first expansion with India and Pakistan becoming full members in 2017.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Jonathan Breen (jonathanbreen@caixin.com)
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