TEHRAN: The leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states on Tuesday congratulated Iran over its accession to the group.
Hosted by India, the SCO summit started on Tuesday morning to pave the way for the inclusion of Iran and open opportunity for the membership of Belarus.
Participating states are also discussing important issues including regional security, economic connectivity, and trade.
The virtual summit is attended by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and other leaders of member nations including Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi.
During the summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed happiness about Iran joining the important group. Modi said that he is happy that Iran is joining the SCO family as a new member.
The Chinese president Xi, for his part, said that the SCO members countries will welcome Iran as an official member in today’s (Tuesday) summit and extended felicitations to Tehran.
Russian President Putin in his address, said that Moscow supports Belarus joining the SCO expeditiously, as it is the closest strategic ally of the Russia. He also welcomed Iran’s membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Putin said that the SCO is committed to establishing a just world order with the central role of the United Nations.
SCO
SCO was founded by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan at a summit held in Shanghai in 2001.
Iran submitted its initial application to the group 15 years ago. Its candidacy was accepted at a session organized in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe in September 2021.
