Head of Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Iran full SCO membership to be announced soon

Zhang Ming, in a phone conversation with the Iranian foreign minister on Friday afternoon, added as of July 4, Iran will enjoy full benefits of its membership in the SCO.

The SCO chief further described Iran’s role in promoting the objectives of the body as important, saying, “It’s a great honor for me that the process of Iran’s permanent membership is happening during my tenure as the secretary general of the SCO”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian for his part thanked the SCO’s chief for his efforts and cooperation for the purpose of completing the process for Iran’s full accession to the body.

Amirabdollahian pointed to the extensive efforts of the Iranian government, parliament and Foreign Ministry to prepare and approve the documents related to Iran’s full membership in the SCO.

The top Iranian diplomat voiced confidence that Iran’s final accession to the organization will provide the body with a new and growing capacity.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an intergovernmental political, economic, security and defense organization founded in 2001.

It is regarded as the world’s largest regional organization in terms of geographic scope and population, covering approximately 60% of the Eurasia region and 40% of the world population.

Currently China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are member states of the SCO.