Uzbekistan’s foreign ministry announced yesterday that Iran will be granted membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) this year with observer status and membership finalized in April of 2023, Global Times reported today, citing Iran’s embassy in Beijing. Uzbekistan is the rotating chair of the SCO this year and will preside over the group’s summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Sept. 15-16, at which time Iran will sign a memorandum of its obligations as a member. It has taken 15 years for Iran to advance to this point.
Mehr News Agency recalls that in early June, Iran’s Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy, Mehdi Safari, proposed that the SCO adopt a single currency to facilitate its trade and economic integration. Iran has also applied to join the BRICS, three of whose members also belong to the SCO–India, Russia, and China. Global Times points out that membership in the SCO will facilitate Iran’s “look to the East” strategy, and strengthen its ties with Russia and China and its role in Central Asia.
