Iran hopes to join SCO as soon as possible: diplomat

Kazem Jalali, the Iranian ambassador to Russia, made the comments on the sidelines of the Caspian Media Forum on Friday. 

"We hope that with the support of all countries, we will become a full-fledged member of this organization at an early date," the Iranian envoy told TASS.

Jalali recalled that since 2008, Iran had been favoring full participation in the SCO. "[We hope that] our full participation in this organization will lead to even greater cooperation in the region and in the SCO," the diplomat noted.

Earlier, according to Special Envoy of the Russian President for SCO Affairs Bakhtiyor Khakimov, Moscow expressed hope that the SCO states would decide on the entry of Tehran's admission to the organization at the summit, scheduled on September 16-17 in Dushanbe.

The SCO is an international organization established on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai, China. The organization includes India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Four countries, namely Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia, have Observer State status, while six countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka) are Dialogue Partners. In 2021, Tajikistan chairs the organization.

KI/PR