Shanghai Cooperation Organisation set for its second expansion with Iran to be admitted at Samarkand Summit

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is set for its second expansion with Iran to be added as its newest member at the upcoming summit in the historic city of Samarkand in mid-September under the Uzbekistan Presidency.

SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming said that he expects to see a Memorandum of Obligations of Iran joining the SCO to be passed at the summit.

Belarus has also applied for SCO membership. The Secretary-General told the media in Beijing on Friday that legal process regarding Belarus’ application for SCO membership will soon start, but it will require the consensus of all member states. The decision to admit Iran was made in last year’s Dushanbe summit.

SCO Foreign Ministers meeting on 28-29 July will set the agenda for the Samarkand Summit where SCO expansion is among the issues that leaders of the grouping are likely to discuss. This SCO summit is being held amid major geopolitical developments like war in Ukraine, the situation in Afghanistan, cross-border terrorism, extremism, supply chain logistics, and connectivity with Eurasia.

Samarkand summit is expected to have agreements on connectivity and high-efficiency transport corridors and a roadmap for local currency settlement among member states, Mr. Zhang said. India will take over the SCO presidency from Uzbekistan in September after the Samarkand Summit.

Experts say, with Iran’s accession to the SCO, India’s push for connectivity in the Eurasian region through INSTC (International North South Transport Corridor) and Chabahar port will get a boost.

India’s recent decision to conduct international trade in national currencies will also compliment and contribute to increasing trade with the Eurasian region. During India’s Presidency beginning the next day of Samarkand Summit, Varanasi has been selected as the SCO region’s first “Tourism and Cultural Capital”, Mr. Zhang said, a rotating title it will hold till next year coinciding with India’s Presidency.