Nepal Officially Becomes SCO Dialogue Partner

BEIJING (Sputnik) — Nepal officially joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as a dialogue partner on Tuesday, after signing a corresponding memorandum, SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov said.

Nepal's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa and Alimov inked the memorandum during a ceremony in Beijing.

"The official ceremony of signing a memorandum on granting Nepal a partner status in SCO dialogue took place at the SCO headquarters," Alimov said.

Alimov added that 2016 was a special year in the history of the organization, as the SCO would hold this year in the Uzbekistan capital of Tashkent its 15th milestone summit. Granting the status of an SCO dialogue partner to Nepal is, according to Alimov, "an important contribution to the further development of the organization."

The SCO is a political, economic and military alliance founded in 2001 by Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Belarus, Mongolia, Iran, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan hold observer status in the organization.

Tashkent will host the SCO summit on June 23-24.