Miory Regional Executive Committee
Belarus has become a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. The corresponding decision was signed during the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO member states in Astana, a BELTA correspondent reports.
Thus, Belarus has become a full-fledged, tenth member of the "SCO family". India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have the same status in the organisation.
"The decision on the full membership of the Republic of Belarus in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation has been made. Esteemed Alexander Grigoryevich, I sincerely congratulate you. I am confident that today will become a bright page in the history of Belarus," said the chairman of the summit, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
He expressed confidence that Belarus will make a significant contribution to strengthening security in the SCO space.
The day before, in an interview with the "Kazinform" agency, Alexander Lukashenko noted that from the very first days of the SCO's founding, he spoke about the huge potential of this organisation: "We immediately became interested in its initiatives and began to participate in projects when it did not yet have such weight. Initially, as a partner state, and since 2015, as an observer. Therefore, we moved step by step towards full membership. Many Belarusian proposals, voiced on the organisation's platform over these years, have already received support."
- Lukashenko: SCO is a strategic perspective for Belarus
- Lukashenko: global security must be built through broad dialogue and without discrimination
- Lukashenko advocated for more active participation of the SCO family in resolving global security issues
"The SCO is not just an international organization for Belarus. It is a strategic perspective. Primarily in trade, economic and investment cooperation, the development of transport and logistics, information and communication, and other infrastructure," the President emphasized.
Belarus has been participating in the SCO since 2010 as a dialogue partner and since 2015 as an observer. In Samarkand, following the Council of Heads of State on September 16, 2022, a decision was signed to initiate the procedure for joining the organization. Within this process, Belarus has acceded to more than 40 treaties.
Lukashenko states that the SCO should focus on global issues. What role will Belarus play in this?
After Belarus upgraded its status in the organization, Afghanistan and Mongolia remained among the observers. The SCO dialogue partners include 14 countries: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Egypt, Cambodia, Qatar, Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Sri Lanka.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a permanently operating intergovernmental international organization, the creation of which was announced on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai (PRC). Initially, it was the "Shanghai Five" – Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. The foundation for the integration of countries with different political systems, traditions, and values within the SCO framework was the security sphere and trade and economic relations. The common goal was to ensure a favorable international environment based on the principles of the "Shanghai Spirit," the main content of which is declared to be mutual trust and benefit, equality, mutual consultations, respect for the diversity of cultures and civilizations, and striving for joint development.
The foundational document of the organization is the SCO Charter, signed in June 2002.