SCO can serve as effective force against unilateralism: Iran

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Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi made remarks on Tuesday, meeting with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's visiting Secretary-General Zhang Ming, who is currently visiting Tehran, leading a delegation. 

The SCO member states consist of "considerable manpower," "rich resources," and "vast geographical expanse" at their disposal, Raisi said.

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He added that "this has created extraordinary capacities for the organization [that it can use] to effectively confront unilateralism and play an effective role in creating regional and international convergence."

What is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization? 

Founded by China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan in 2001, SCO currently forms the world's biggest regional market with eight official and four observer members. 

The organization accounts for 40 percent of the world's population and 28 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP). 

Tehran's accession 

In March 2022, Iran and the organization started a formal process for Tehran's accession to the block. A few months later in September, Iran signed a memorandum of commitment to join the SCO. The Iranian parliament then approved the country's accession to the organization.  

Iran's membership is expected to be completed during the SCO's next summit, which is scheduled to take place in New Delhi, India in April. 

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The president explained that Iran's membership would further galvanize regional cooperation and reinforce trade relations with other members of the organization. Moreover, he considered the "increasing exchange of expertise and interaction" among the member states to be a component that could reinforce their economic strength and intra-organizational trade cooperation.

For his part, Zhang submitted a detailed report on the process of completion of Iran's membership in the SCO. He praised the nature of relations with Iran and with the rest of the organization's membership, laying emphasis on Tehran's role in regional peace, stability, and development.

"We are certain that, given its rich civilizational and historical background, Iran can serve as an active and productive member in expanding the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's field of action and strength..."