SCO chief: Iran could become full member in 2023

The secretary general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization says Iran could become a full SCO member in 2023 if it fulfils its commitments.

Zhang Ming made the remarks on Monday in a meeting with former SCO chief Vladimir Norov in Tashkent where the two sides discussed preparations for Uzbekistan’s presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Norov said Iran plans to sign documents at the SCO summit in Samarkand in September to commit to joining the SCO. The SCO was formed in 2001.

It is a transcontinental political, economic, security, and military alliance.

The group’s full members are Russia, China, India, Pakistan and the central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Iran’s bid to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was approved by the bloc’s permanent members in September 2021 and it is now completing the technical and legal process.

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