Iran will be admitted to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), also known as the Shanghai Pact, as an observer state before the year is out, according to a Monday statement by the Uzbek Foreign Ministry.

"This year, within Uzbekistan's chairmanship, Iran will be admitted to the SCO as an observer state … A memorandum on Iran's obligations as a SCO member will also be signed in Samarkand," Uzbekistan's acting foreign minister, Vladimir Norov, said at a panel meeting in Moscow.

Tehran's admission was accepted at the Dushanbe summit last year, when Tajikistan was the Shanghai Pact's rotating chair. However, finalizing that process could take two years.

The SCO was formed in 2001 and today has nine members: China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan. Together, they account for 40% of the world’s population and 28% of its gross domestic product (GDP). Observer states include Afghanistan, Belarus, and Mongolia.

Poster Comment:

Iran is also joining BRICS.