One of the important points of the meeting at the upcoming Samarkand SCO summit will be the issue of expanding the organization.
Iran is expected to sign a Memorandum of Commitment at the SCO Leaders’ Summit in Samarkand. This will give Iran full membership in the organization.
This country is a natural bridge between Arabs, Afghans, Turks, Pakistanis, Azerbaijanis, Armenians and Turkmens. The republic occupies the 17th place in the world in terms of area, about 85.5 million people live in it, the Podrobno.uz portal writes.
In modern conditions, the importance of Iran has only increased. According to British Petroleum, Iran ranks 2nd in the world (after Russia) in terms of natural gas reserves, 4th in proven oil reserves and 7th in its production.
Iran has established relationships with many countries of the world. Central Asia in its foreign policy is one of the key regions in the world.
Iran’s current policy in Central Asia is based on the idea of a cultural community in the region. This is also facilitated not only by the interconnected ancient historical past, but also by common borders, as well as new trade and economic ties with the SCO countries, the newspaper writes.
Observer status in the SCO was granted to Iran in 2005 along with India and Pakistan. The decision to start the procedure for admitting Iran to the Organization as the 9th full member, approved in September 2021 by the leaders of states at the Dushanbe summit, contributed to a significant strengthening of its potential and opened up new prospects for advancing the interests of Uzbekistan and Central Asian countries in the Iranian direction.
Membership in the SCO opens up opportunities for closer cooperation between Iran and the countries of the region in the field of regional security, incl. Afghanistan. This topic is very relevant for most countries of the Organization. Stability in Afghanistan is a common goal of its immediate neighbors, including Iran. It was Iran, along with Pakistan, that received the largest number of Afghan refugees.
In 2021, an agreement was signed between Tehran and Beijing on cooperation, which means the further involvement of Iran in the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. Thanks to this agreement, China will be able to access the ports of the Black Sea and the Middle East. In this context, the importance of Iran is very significant for the effective functioning of the Silk Road of the 21st century.
For Uzbekistan, Iran’s accession to the SCO opens up new prospects for mutually beneficial partnership, writes Podrobno. In the case of practical activation of the institutional mechanisms of cooperation, Uzbekistan can actually increase the volume of bilateral trade, implement new cooperation projects in industry. In addition, the parties can more effectively use each other’s transit potential and promote cultural and humanitarian exchange programs. Other countries of Central Asia also have such opportunities.
By building constructive relations with Iran, Uzbekistan, like other Central Asian countries, will get access to the Iranian corridor leading to international maritime communications: the ports of Bandar Abbas and Chakhbahar. This opens up new prospects for further expansion of trade and economic ties and optimization of logistics routes.
Analysts note that the full involvement of Iran in the activities of the SCO is fully consistent with its statutory goals, meets the interests of all participants in this macro-regional association and will give a significant impetus to mutually beneficial cooperation, the portal concludes its analysis.
The SCO leaders’ summit will be held on September 15-16, 2022 in the Uzbek city of Samarkand. Belarus is next after Iran for full membership, which may become a member of the SCO in two years. At the next SCO Summit after Samarkand.
Photo: Iran.ru
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Sep. 11, 2022