TEHRAN (Iran News) Mehrdad Kiaie, director general for SCO and BRICS affairs at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, attended the expert meeting. He also held talks with Iran’s Ambassador to Moscow, Kazem Jalali, discussing the latest measures related to cooperation between Tehran and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Iran became an official member of the SCO in September 2021. The ten-member SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and international security organization focused on cooperation in politics, economics, security, and counter-terrorism.

Aref will travel to Moscow on Monday to attend the meeting scheduled for the following day.

Prior to the Council meeting, representatives from SCO member states held a three-day expert meeting, which will conclude today, Sunday.

The expert meeting focused on coordinating the draft Action Plan for 2026-2030 for the implementation of the Program of Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation among SCO member states, according to a release by the organization.

During the event, the authorized representatives agreed on the text of the Plan, which has been included in the list of documents proposed for signing at the upcoming Council of Heads of Government meeting, the statement added.

Iran became an official member of the SCO in September 2021. The ten-member SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and international security organization focused on cooperation in politics, economics, security, and counter-terrorism.

Aref will travel to Moscow on Monday to attend the meeting scheduled for the following day.

Prior to the Council meeting, representatives from SCO member states held a three-day expert meeting, which will conclude today, Sunday.

The expert meeting focused on coordinating the draft Action Plan for 2026-2030 for the implementation of the Program of Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation among SCO member states, according to a release by the organization.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) Defense Minister Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh says the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has the potential to expand its scope of activities and establish effective security coalitions in the future.

Nasirzadeh, who accompanied the president on his recent visit to China, outlined the achievements of the trip and emphasized the significance of discussions held on the sidelines of the SCO summit.

“During this meeting, officials from member states engaged in discussions regarding security and defense issues,” he said.

He went on to explain that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is currently focused primarily on counter-terrorism and combating drug trafficking. However, he suggested that, given its current trajectory, the organization could expand its activities in the future and establish effective security coalitions.

The SCO summits, which were held from August 31 to September 1, brought together heads of state from over 30 countries and international organizations, aiming to foster cooperation and address pressing global issues.

Nasirzadeh, who accompanied the president on his recent visit to China, outlined the achievements of the trip and emphasized the significance of discussions held on the sidelines of the SCO summit.

“During this meeting, officials from member states engaged in discussions regarding security and defense issues,” he said.

He went on to explain that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is currently focused primarily on counter-terrorism and combating drug trafficking. However, he suggested that, given its current trajectory, the organization could expand its activities in the future and establish effective security coalitions.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) –Tehran’s international trade with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has increased to over $37 billion in the first 10 months of the current Iranian calendar year starting on March 21, 2023, an Iranian official has stated.

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In a televised interview on Tuesday, Hossein Amirabdollahian said Iran’s full membership in the SCO was among the achievements of the Raisi administration’s foreign policy and will improve people’s livelihood.

At the end of the 23rd virtual summit of the SCO Council of Heads of States on July 4, Iran gained full membership of the world’s largest regional organization in terms of geographic scope and population. Iran’s national flag was raised at the bloc’s Secretariat compound in Beijing on July 5.

Iran and the organization started a formal process for Tehran’s accession to the bloc in March 2022. In September of the same year, Iran signed a memorandum of commitment to join the SCO. A month later, the Iranian parliament approved the country’s accession to the organization.

Amirabdollahian pointed to the outcomes of Iran’s accession to the SCO and said Iran will enjoy all the facilities available to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states in the economic and commercial domains.

The chief Iranian diplomat, however, emphasized that the SCO is not just an organization that focuses only on economic issues, but it also includes cooperation in the fields of security, culture, military, anti-terror fight, science and technology.

Pointing to Iran’s potential accession to the BRICS, Amirabdollahian said Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has been officially invited to take part in the powerful bloc’s 15th summit in South Africa from 22–24 August 2023.

He added that Iran’s potential membership in the five-state bloc would provide the country with an opportunity to make use of great capacities from Africa to Asia, Latin America and other countries.

Iran’s membership in BRICS, regardless of laying the groundwork for the flourishing of trade, can be a field to test the ways to deal with the hegemony of the US dollar.

BRICS is comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The group’s members host around half of the world’s population besides representing one-fifth of the global economy.

Iran is among more than a dozen countries that seek membership in the bloc and has submitted a formal application to join the body. The Islamic Republic has described its objectives as in alignment with those of the BRICS countries.

“The world today is not a world of unilateralism. A new international order is shaping in the world. One of the features of this new order is the countries’ focus and attempts to move from unilateralism to multilateralism,” the Iranian foreign minister said.

‘Nothing can hinder development of Iran-Egypt cooperation’

Amirabdollahian also pointed to numerous commonalities between Iran and Egypt, saying the two countries are drawing up plans to improve relations.

“We set no limitation to the expansion of all-out cooperation with Egypt,” he stated.

He then pointed out that both sides have already sent their ambassadors to their respective capitals and started security talks.

Egypt severed its diplomatic relations with Iran in 1980 after it welcomed the deposed Pahlavi ruler of Iran and also recognized the apartheid Israeli regime.

Elsewhere in his wide-ranging interview, the minister said Iran would continue the path of negotiations with the United States and European countries but would never cross its red lines.

Amirabdollahian added that Iran is making efforts to tackle the impacts of unilateral US sanctions.

Despite the sanctions, he noted, Iran succeeded in increasing the value of its trade exchanges with its neighbors to more than $90 billion.

Tehran has also raised its economic exchanges with European countries in spite of certain political challenges, he said.

Amirabdollahian added that Iran has maintained its ties with Britain, Germany and France – the three European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal – but argued that Europe is not confined only to these three countries.

“There are other large sectors in Europe that we interact with without any challenge,” the Iranian minister said.

Amirabdollahian also said any development in Afghanistan can have impacts on Iran’s security, given 900 kilometers of common border.

“Any instability in Afghanistan has a direct impact on our border areas,” he said, describing the massive influx of Afghan refugees into Iran as one of the Islamic Republic’s “serious” challenges.

He warned of the spread of terrorism in Afghanistan and said, “We have explicitly announced that no group in Afghanistan has been able so far to run a stable political system without the participation of all ethnic groups. Therefore the formation of an inclusive government is a necessity.”

Iran does not recognize the Taliban in the absence of an inclusive Afghan government, the minister asserted.

The Iranian foreign minister says Tehran will never tolerate any intervention in matters relating to its territorial integrity.

Amirabdollahian also reiterated Tehran’s firm determination to safeguard the country’s national interests and independence following a joint statement issued last week by the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Russia that challenged Iran’s sovereignty over the three Persian Gulf islands of Abu Musa, the Greater and Lesser Tunbs.

The minister said Iran would maintain its relations with countries while pursuing its “Look to Asia” policy, but hastened to add that the Islamic Republic “will never allow Russia or China to think that they are our only choices.”

Iran interacts with Russia and China based on its own interests and would never let them harm the Islamic Republic’s independence, national sovereignty and territorial integrity, Amirabdollahian said.

In their statement, the GCC and Russian ministers said the issue of the three Persian Gulf islands should be settled through bilateral negotiations or the International Court of Justice, in accordance with the rules of international law and the United Nations Charter.

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Speaking to Tasnim News, Majid-Reza Hariri touched upon the economic effects of Iran’s joining the SCO and said that in 2035, five out of ten world big economies will be from Asia but we should not expect immediate effect of this membership like the decrease in prices, like dollar rate, in the market.

He added that although the foundation of the SCO is based on security and military relations, there is today in the world no treaty without economic aspect.

He emphasized that the economic impacts of the membership in the SCO cannot appear soon and it needs long time. Hariri added that the country is currently in the economic war condition and the enemy actually has taken its political, religious and military problems to the scene of economy. He added that the main goal of the U.S. and Western countries is to isolate Iran and this isolation will definitely have very bad economic consequences.

He emphasized that joining to any treaty like bilateral, multilateral, regional or international will save Iran from the economic isolation, adding that so we should not immediately expect the direct impact of this membership in the short term and while big countries are trying to restrict Iran through sanctions, joining to such organizations can show Iran’s interaction with the world in the international public opinion.

He further said that three big world economies China, India and Russia in this treat are among 17 countries that Iran had set targets for boosting trade with them and the membership can be a ground for boosting ties with them.

He reiterated that economic look to the East is a futuristic look, adding that according to predicts of economic elites of the world, by 2023 five out of ten big economies of the world will be from Asia and therefore we should not seek immediate impact of the joining to the SCO.

Hariri claimed that political-economic geography of the world is changing from the West to the East, adding that Iran is trying to improve its ties with the East Asian countries and expressed hope the ties with Japan and South Korea would also get better.

He added that now Iran’s signature for joining of the Persian Gulf littoral states to the SCO will be very important and they will need Iran’s approval.

Meanwhile Head of Iran Export Confederation Mr. Mohammad Lahooti said that joining the SCO can have good advantages for Iran but Iran’s avoiding joining the FATF can reduce trade of the SCO members with Iran.

He said that many countries and companies are not ready for headache because of trade with Iran without this country’s presence in the FATF system. He added that some Chinese companies, because of the FATF issue, export their products via the third party country, the UAE. He emphasized that sanctions will be still problem for Iran’s trade, adding that the SCO is actually an intergovernmental  treaty and therefore the private sector reacts not too much to this membership.

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Iran became a SCO member during the 23rd virtual summit of the bloc which started on Tuesday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its chairperson.

Iran first applied for membership in the alliance 15 years ago, but it took until 2021 for the request to be approved.

The SCO, which has its headquarters in China, is a diplomatic organization with eight members, namely Russia, India, Pakistan, and the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

Iran and the organization started a formal process for Tehran’s accession to the bloc in March 2022. In September of the same year, Iran signed a memorandum of commitment to join the SCO. A month later, the Iranian parliament approved the country’s accession to the organization.

Addressing the 23rd virtual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), President Ebrahim Raisi warned against the dominance of the dollar in global exchanges, saying de-dollarization is a pivotal necessity to form a just international system.

He said cooperation among the SCO member states in the economic fields can “open a clear vision of a just regional order” to the eyes of world nations.

Based on the past decades’ experience, he said, militarism and the dominance of the dollar form the bases of the Western domination system.

“Therefore any attempt to shape a fair international system requires the removal of this instrument of dominance in intra-regional relations,” the Iranian president pointed out.

He noted that civilization is the greatest capacity of the SCO member countries to build unity and peace.

He stressed the importance of promoting a civilization in this “ancient” continent based on ethics, spirituality, justice, rationality, and respect for human dignity.

“The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which is a symbol of this “great family of civilizations”, is now standing in a position that can establish new horizons of regional convergence and security-building cooperation,” Raisi stated.

Pointing to the desecration of the Holy Qur’an in some European countries, he emphasized the need to respect the “values and sanctities of the nations” as a “unifying principle”.

The Iranian president said the desecration of the Holy Qur’an caused hatred and spread insecurity, which should be dealt with by displaying unity among civilized nations.

In a repeated and state-authorized instance of desecration of the Muslim holy book, two men stood outside the central mosque in Stockholm on Wednesday and burned a copy of the holy book following a go-ahead given by a Swedish court.

The move was made to coincide with the Muslim festivity of Eid al-Adha, which marks the conclusion of the annual Hajj pilgrimage that is partaken by millions of Muslims from across the world.

Addressing the summit, the Indian prime minister said the Shanghai Cooperation Organization should join hands to fight terrorism and not hesitate to condemn countries that support terror.

Modi also called on leaders of the Eurasian political and security grouping to work for the welfare of Afghanistan and provide humanitarian aid to Kabul.

He also congratulated Iran on becoming a full member of the alliance and conveyed his “best wishes to President Ebrahim Raisi and the people of Iran.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the SCO leaders to work to “protect regional peace and ensure security.”

He said the SCO member states should “follow the right direction and enhance their solidarity and mutual trust”.

He stressed the importance of focusing on pragmatic cooperation and accelerating economic recovery, and pledged to work with SCO member states to “oppose protectionism.”

China would “persist in the correct direction of economic globalization, oppose protectionism, unilateral sanctions and extension of national security concept,” Xi said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also reiterated his country’s opposition to Western sanctions and said Moscow would counter “all these external sanctions and pressures” and continue to “develop as never before”.

Putin also backed trade accords between SCO nations in local currencies in an attempt to blunt sanctions.

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Speaking at the opening of a SCO center in Moscow, Lavrov declared, “The full membership of Iran will be approved at the meeting of heads of state on July 4.”

Although Iran originally requested to join the alliance 15 years ago, it wasn’t granted membership until 2021.

The SCO, which has its headquarters in China, is a diplomatic organization with eight members: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Russia, India, and Pakistan.

The group was founded in 2001, and its members seek to address shared security challenges, cooperate militarily, and advance internal trade.

In March 2022, Iran and the group formally began the procedure for Teheran’s membership.

Iran committed to joining the SCO by signing a memorandum of understanding in September of that same year. A month later, the Iranian parliament gave its approval for the nation to join the bloc.

A month later, the Iranian parliament approved the country’s accession to the bloc.

On July 4, the meeting will be held virtually in New Delhi.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi emphasized the importance of the SCO on March 7 in order to promote global cooperation and counter unilateralism.

Raisi stated that the SCO member nations had access to “considerable manpower,” “rich resources,” and “vast geographical expanse” when speaking with SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming in Tehran.

“This has created extraordinary capacities for the organization that it can use to effectively confront unilateralism and play an effective role in creating regional and international convergence,” he continued.

According to Zhang, who praised Tehran’s ties to other SCO members, “We are certain that, given its rich civilizational and historical background, Iran can serve as an active and productive member in expanding the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s field of action and strength.”

In May, China’s SCO National Coordinator, Zhang Haizhou, said that more and more countries are applying to join the SCO family.

Speaking to media persons from countries member to the SCO, Zhang welcomed journalists on behalf of the Department of European-Central Asian Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.

Zhang explained that the goals of the SCO are as follows: firstly, to step into a new stage with unity and mutual trust; secondly, to reach a new level of security cooperation; thirdly, to enter into a new stage of opening-up; fourthly, to make achievements in cultural and people-to-people exchanges; fifthly, to confirm the trend of democracy in a multi-polar world.

Iran has recently taken part in a vigorous diplomatic drive across the world, deepening friendships with neighbors and partners in various regions, particularly Latin America.

Tehran has also asked to join the BRICS group, which also includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

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The SCO is also interested in boosting interaction with Iran in different fields of technology, IRNA quoted Ming as saying.

He made the remarks in a meeting with Amirhossein Mir-Abadi, the head of the Center for International Science and Technology Cooperation, in Tehran on Saturday.

Iran has a very good capability in the field of technology, which can give a new form of cooperation with the members of the organization, the SCO official stressed.

The country has gained significant achievements in various fields of technology, he highlighted.

One of the most important sectors in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is in the field of science and technology, he said, adding that Iran can contribute to the development of the member countries in this regard.

Iran has been able to advance in the fields of information and communication technology, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology, he noted.

The country’s progressing process of development has accelerated with the emphasis on the formation of the technology and innovation ecosystem and the approval of laws for supporting knowledge-based companies and boosting Iran-made products.

Today, we are witnessing the positive effects of adopting the approach in the economy, culture, and daily life of people.

the Vice Presidency for Science, Technology, and Knowledge-Based Economy has reported that the sales of knowledge-based companies in the fiscal year 1400 (March 2021-March 2022) hit 4,000 trillion rials (about $10 billion) compared to the fiscal year 1399, an increase of 86 percent year on year.

Improving the scientific level of society, achieving high global rankings in the number of scientific articles, references, and patenting, reducing the illiteracy rate, and increasing the number of university courses and students are only a part of the achievements after the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

According to the latest statistics, a total of 8,046 knowledge-based companies are operating in the country.

The number of knowledge-based companies in biotechnology, agriculture, and food industries is 362, in advanced pharmaceuticals is 480, in advanced materials (chemistry and polymer) is 1130, and in advanced machinery and equipment is 1721.

Moreover, 326 companies are operating in the field of medical equipment, 1821 companies in electricity and electronics, 1778 companies in information technology, 397 companies in commercialization, and 31 companies in creative industries and humanities.

In line with the law enforced on May 24, 2022, knowledge-based production is a priority of the government so the plan for promoting knowledge-based products has progressed well so far.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei designated the current Iranian calendar year, which started on March 21, 2022, as the year of “Production: Knowledge-Based and Job-Creating.”

Over the past couple of years, the concept of a ‘knowledge-based company’ has changed to a ‘knowledge-based society’, meaning that supporting knowledge-based companies will lead to many social and economic advantages for the public.

The Leader reemphasized the importance of boosting domestic production, as he had done in past years, saying the reason he placed so much emphasis on production was “because it boosts economic growth, it creates employment, it reduces inflation, it increases per capita income and it improves public welfare.”

To this end, the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology has executed and supported several projects toward the goal of boosting knowledge-based production.

Moreover, the development of an innovation ecosystem is on the agenda, according to which 65 houses of innovation have been set up across the country.

MG

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The existence of more than 88,000-MW electricity capacity in the country is an asset for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Homayoon Haeri stated on Tuesday, Mehr News Agency reported.

He said that the high potential of Iran’s electricity grid both in terms of production and internal electricity networks is a sufficient condition for the presence of Iran in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Turning to the construction of power plants, Haeri pointed out that Iran enjoys high potential and capabilities in the construction of power plants which can be very effective in exchanging energy with the SCO’s member states.

Earlier, Iranian Minister of Energy Ali Akbar Mehrabian had said that exchanging electricity with the SCO member states will be put atop the agenda, adding that Iran has presently established electricity exchange with some of the SCO member states.

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