Iran to join cooperation bloc with China in July: chancellor

Iran should soon join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, an economic and political organization of Central Asian countries in partnership with China. According to the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hossein Amirabdollahian, the process will be concluded in July.

“We will become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in July when the association’s next summit is held,” he said on Thursday. The information was provided by the Tass agencies, from Russia, and the Iranian Tasnim.

Last year, the organization’s summit was attended by Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi. On that occasion, he signed a memorandum of commitment to obtain membership status of the association.

The next summit will be held on the 4th of July under the chairmanship of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in virtual format. As the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday, all members of the organization will attend the summit. Iran, Belarus and Mongolia were invited as observers. In addition, Turkmenistan will participate as a guest country.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is part of China’s efforts to expand its economic and political ties with Asian countries and thus contain US influence in the region. The Beijing government has also extended its diplomatic actions to other regions, such as the Pacific Islands.

The declaration on the establishment of the entity was signed in Shanghai in June 2001 by six states – Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Currently, the organization also includes India and Pakistan. Observer states are Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia, dialogue partners are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka.

(Posted by Fabio Mendes)

Source: CNN Brasil

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