Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has participated in a virtual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in India as the bloc is to officially welcome Iran's accession, IRNA reports.
The 23rd SCO summit kicked off on Tuesday through a video conference in India.
This is the first time that Iran takes part in the SCO summit as a full member of the organization.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has said that Iran’s membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will have historical benefits.
“Iran believes that [the SCO] is a growing organization with significant indicators and capacities and a privileged position, and the benefits of this official [accession] of Iran will be recorded in history,” he said.
He also expressed his gratitude to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for hosting the summit.
The president expressed hope that Iran’s presence in the organization will provide a platform for achieving collective security and sustainable development, as well as unity between the countries.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have congratulated Iran's accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Iran’s application to join the SCO as a full member was confirmed by member states of the bloc two years ago; and the technical process for accepting the membership bid was approved a year ago at the 22nd SCO summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Delivering a speech to the SCO opening ceremony on Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his country is happy to see Iran’s accession to the organization.
The 23rd SCO summit is due to approve and officially announce the membership of Iran and Belarus in the eight-member bloc which is comprised of India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
