Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Asian and Pacific Affairs Ebrahim Rahimpour attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Russian city of Ufa on Friday and stressed Iran’s interest in expanding cooperation with SCO and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) member countries.
He noted that Iran conducts 70 percent of its economic cooperation with SCO member states (including Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), saying “in 2014 Iran’s trade exchange with these countries hit 90 billion dollars which means we pay considerable attention to developing trade cooperation with the world and once the sanctions are lifted, the country’s trade index will see a definite boost.”
Iranian diplomat also said Iran supports China’s initiative in reviving the Silk Road.
The Silk Road project in which Iran is participating aims to connect Asia to Europe and Africa through a network of roads, railways, ports and airports. Beijing says it already has more than 50 countries on board to implement the project which is said to annually create more than $2.5 trillion of trade among the countries in a decade.
Rahimpour further deemed security as another significant point of discussion for SCO, saying “Iran plays a pivotal role in ensuring the security of countries in and outside the region.”
He also stressed that the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the 5+1 group of countries currently underway in Vienna will further aid promoting peace and security in the world and region.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a Eurasian political, economic and military organization, was in the Russian city of Ufa on July 9 and 10. Iran, together with Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, are observer members to the organization.