MOSCOW, 17 Sep. The leading countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Friday approved a document on Iran's joining the organization as a permanent member, Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian said. The procedure for admitting Iran to the organization began on Friday at the SCO summit in Tajikistan. Russian President Vladimir Putin supported the country's accession to the SCO, noting that Moscow has always advocated the full-fledged participation of Iran in the work of the organization. Previously, Iran in the SCO held the position of an observer country.
Putin supported the decision to start the procedure for Iran's admission to the SCO «We are glad that the document on Iran's permanent membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was approved by the leaders of the organization in the presence of the President of our country (Ibrahim Raisi) today, Friday, in Dushanbe. This strategic membership will be important influence on comprehensive cooperation with Iran within the framework of the neighborhood policy, as well as within the framework of an Asia-oriented policy, «the ISNA agency quoted Abdollahian as saying. The SCO is an international organization founded in 2001 by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. The SCO observer countries are Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia, the partner countries are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka. In 2021, the organization is chaired by Tajikistan.
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