Tajikistan Urges Iran’s Membership in SCO

TEHRAN (FNA)- Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon has called on the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to accept Iran’s membership bid.

In an official letter addressed to the heads of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Rahmon solicited them to vote in favor of Iran’s membership proposal at the organization’s next meeting in Dushanbe, IRIB reported.

“The Tajik president is continuing his negotiations to push forward Tehran’s bid for membership,” the Iranian Ambassador to Tajikistan Ali-Asqar She’r-Doust said, following a meeting with Emomali Rahmon on Wednesday.

“The SCO charter has left the acceptance of new members in a cloud of doubt,” he added, noting that other countries such as India, Pakistan and Belarus are also seeking to join the organization.

The SCO is a security, economic, and cultural organization established in 2001 by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.