From September 15 to 16, the 22nd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO member states will be held in Samarkand, a historic city in Uzbekistan.
On September 9, local time, Shanghai Cooperation Organization Secretary-General Zhang Ming said in an interview with Russia's TASS news agency that the heads of state of the SCO member states will sign a memorandum on Iran's commitment to join the SCO at the Samarkand Summit, and then Iran will complete the work of joining the SCO according to procedures. Zhang Ming also revealed that Belarus has also recently submitted an application for accession to the SCO, and many countries hope to become members, observers or partners of the organization.
Screenshot of TASS report
"We look forward to the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the (SCO) leaders on Iran's commitments to join the SCO, after which Iran will fulfill the appropriate commitments in accordance with procedures and complete the work of joining the SCO." Zhang Ming said the decision to include Iran as a full member was made at last year's SCO summit.
Zhang Ming said Belarus has also recently submitted an application for membership in the SCO. "At present, the SCO is actively discussing the belarusian application, the Secretariat is moving forward with the main coordination work, and we are confident that consensus can eventually be reached."
Zhang Ming revealed that in addition to Iran and Belarus, there are many countries that hope to become members, observers or partners of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
"It is hoped that the SCO can play a more important role in maintaining regional security and stability, expanding the scope of common interests of member states, and promoting the development of the global management system in a more just and stable direction."
Zhang Ming reiterated that the SCO is open-minded, "We welcome any country that shares the 'Shanghai Spirit' and abides by the SCO Charter to join the SCO, and we will make positive efforts to promote this process." ”
Zhang Ming, Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO official website map)
From September 15 to 16, the 22nd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO Member States will be held in the historic city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan, and the issue of expansion will be one of the main topics of the summit. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said on the 5th that Iranian President Ibrahim Lehi will attend the summit.
At present, the SCO, which was established in 2001, has a total of 8 member states. Among them, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are its founding members, and Iran, Belarus, Afghanistan and Mongolia are observer states. In 2017, the SCO Astana Summit decided to grant membership to India and Pakistan, completing the first expansion.
In August last year, Sharmhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told the Tehran Times that "the political obstacles to Iran's accession to the SCO have been removed and Iran will become a full member of the SCO after the technical process is completed." At the SCO Dushanbe summit a month later, the heads of state of the member states signed a document that kicked off the process of Iran's accession to the organization.
Since the beginning of this year, there have been more and more news about Iran's "regularization". Uzbekistan, the rotating chairman of the SCO this year, said in July that the Samarkand Summit would sign a memorandum on Iran's membership in the SCO and that Iran would officially become a member of the SCO.
Iran became an observer state of the SCO in 2005 and has been applying to become a full member of the SCO since 2008.
In accordance with the Regulations on the Admission of New Members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, ratified in 2010, and the Procedure for Granting Status to SCO Member States, approved in 2014, states applying to become new members are required to perform the relevant legal procedures in their own countries and recognize all international treaties signed by the SCO since its establishment. The applicant State shall become a full member of the SCO only after it has completed all domestic procedures and has been approved by the SCO Council of Heads of State.
In the first round of formal expansion of the SCO, the process of recruiting India and Pakistan as full member states has already fulfilled the full process of granting membership to member states. In 2015, the Ufa Summit officially launched the process of recruiting India and Pakistan into the SCO. In 2016, the Memorandum of Understanding on the Obligations of India and Pakistan to Join the SCO was signed during the Tashkent Summit. In 2017, at the Astana Summit, India and Pakistan officially joined the SCO. In 2018, India and Pakistan participated in the SCO Qingdao Summit as full members for the first time. After the completion of the first expansion, the international influence of the SCO has further increased, ushering in unprecedented development space and cooperation potential.
It is worth mentioning that Iran is also actively promoting the work of joining the "BRICS countries". On June 27, Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it had applied to join the BRICS countries. A spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the "BRICS countries" have established a creative cooperation mechanism with multiple functions, and Iran has conducted a series of consultations with the "BRICS countries" on the application for membership, hoping that Iran's accession will bring "added value" to all member states.
For more than two decades, the circle of friends of the SCO has become larger and larger. In addition to Iran, last year's Dushanbe summit approved Egypt's status as a SCO dialogue partner. Belarusian Ambassador to China Senko said on July 24 that Belarus wants to become a member of the SCO.
Russia's Izvestia newspaper quoted two senior sources close to the SCO secretariat as saying on August 4 that 10 countries want to join the SCO, including the United Arab Emirates, Syria, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian stressed on July 26 that since its establishment, the SCO has always followed the Shanghai spirit and firmly pursued the concept of openness and inclusive cooperation, which has been highly recognized by the international community. At present, more and more countries want to strengthen cooperation with the SCO, which fully demonstrates the increasing attractiveness and international influence of the SCO. We welcome countries that share the Spirit of Shanghai and the principles of the purposes of the SCO to join the SCO family.
The expansion of the SCO has also received widespread attention from the international community. Some people compare NATO expansion with SCO expansion. Zhang Ming said at a press conference on July 15 that the birth of NATO is a product of the Cold War, but the SCO is different from NATO, the SCO is not a military alliance, the SCO expansion and NATO expansion can not be compared, the motives, demands and consequences of the two are very different.
Zhang Ming stressed that on the one hand, the SCO deepens solidarity and cooperation to maintain peace, prosperity and development in the region, while on the other hand, it does not engage in alliances and does not target third parties, and all member states adhere to the Shanghai spirit. Persist in resolving differences through peaceful dialogue.
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