Tehran has started the path to be part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as a full member after having observer status in the body. Iran has finally been inducted as part of the non-EU bloc after signing a memorandum and adding to the Russia and China lead organization.
Eastern Nations Challenge Washington, Its Allies
The Middle Eastern country that the US has long aimed to destroy through diplomatic solitude and trade embargoes became the organization's ninth member last Thursday, reported RT.
Moscow and Beijing are the SCO's heavyweights and superpowers, and they are gaining ground on a terrified Washington that is fearful of losing ground.
It was first established in 2001 to function as an alternative intragovernmental forum aimed at fostering trust and developing economic and humanitarian ties in Asia, noted Telesur.
The eastern bloc comprises eight countries: China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. In the city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan hosts the annual summit of the member states' leaders.
For the record, Iran has been an SCO observer since 2005. President Ebrahim Raisi, who met with senior Uzbek officials on Wednesday, is responsible for its delegation to the summit.
According to the foreign ministry of the host nation, the document was executed by Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Secretary-General Zhang Ming and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
It describes in detail the commitments Tehran will take on to participate in the SCO, citing Social News XYZ.
In the last week, Yury Ushakov, a foreign policy adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, recommended that Iran could be qualified for full membership after observer status even before the SCO summit in India the very next year.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization Is Fast Growing
Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the president of Uzbekistan, hailed this year's event as a pivotal moment for the collective.
He emphasized the size of the group, which collectively accounts for about half of the world's population and a quarter of its gross domestic product. Its size surpasses the EU's, and all of its assets exceed those of the west.
Belarus, another group member, will be admitted as a full member in 2022. Last Wednesday, Qatar and Egypt became dialogue partners, adding more Middle Eastern nations to the list.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Myanmar, and the Maldives are all expected to join the SCO. These members, unlike the EU, have oil and gas resources that the US and EU want to control, but that will not happen if the SCO acts as a stronger bloc.
SCO To Accept More Members Soon
At the forthcoming summit, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will expand with the entry of Iran and Belarus, based on the president of Uzbekistan, remarked President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, per Thread Times.
In a story published on his official site on Monday, Mirziyoyev expressed optimism that the occasion set for September 15-16 will "underline the beginning of a new stage" in the organization's history.
Tehran is set to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) after observer status next year, after Belarus.
