Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is expected to gain SCO membership for his country in his first foreign trip to Tajikistan, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
The outlet noted in its report that the Islamic Republic now has the goal of tightening relations with both Beijing and Moscow, since it relies on Russia and China to weather harsh sanctions imposed by the United States.
In 2005, Iran, along with India and Pakistan, became an observer, but India and Pakistan then moved for permanent membership in 2017. Having applied for the same twice, Tehran was unable to join the pact due to opposition from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
With the member states having convened in Tajikistan on Thursday for two days of meetings amid the 2021 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, Raisi noted, cited by IRNA, that Iran sees the broadening of relations with neighbouring states, Tajikistan in particular, as one of its priorities.
Raisi also hinted that there are several agreements to be signed between the Iranian and Tajik sides. He and his Tajik counterpart, Emomali Rahmon, are set to hold a bilateral meeting during Raisi's trip to Dushanbe.
Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani
© AP Photo / Vahid Salemi
It has been Iran's goal to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation since 2005, but only in late August did Iranian officials confirm that Tehran was a few "technical formalities" away from joining the Shanghai Pact.
According to IRNA, China also expressed support for Tehran's membership in the SCO, noting that such a development would be in line with the long-term interests of the organisation.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was established over two decades ago and now consists of China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.