Mohammad-Reza Aref made the remarks on Monday prior to his trip to the Republic of Tajikistan to attend the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) prime ministers.
Turning to the main aim behind his visit to the Republic of Tajikistan, the vice president said, “Shanghai Cooperation Organization was established in 2001 with the participation of five or six countries and now, it has 10 official members, all of which are significant countries within the region and the Iranian civilizational sphere."
Referring to the combination of the organization's membership, Aref added, “China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Belarus, and Iran are official members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.”
Turning to the geographical and demographic scope of the member countries, he opined, “The SCO’s member states totally span an area of approximately 36 million square kilometers, equivalent to nearly one-quarter of the world's landmass. Furthermore, the population of SCO’s member countries accounts for a significant portion of the global population.”
Elsewhere in his remarks, Aref referred to the process of Iran’s accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), emphasizing, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has actively participated in the organization’s working groups, commissions, and committees and it has achieved valuable outcomes due to extensive commonalities with the member states."
Referring to the objectives of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Prime Ministers' meeting, the first vice president stated that the meeting is held annually to evaluate the performance of member states and explore ways to expand cooperation. The focus of this year’s summit is on the effectiveness of trade and economic collaboration as well as humanitarian initiatives, with the outcomes to be announced in the form of several documents and a declaration.
MNA/ 6982294
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