MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/: Iran's full-scale admission to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the signing of a memorandum of commitment by Belarus to join the SCO is scheduled for July 4 at the Council of Heads of State of the organization, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday.
"At the upcoming July 4 meeting of the Council of Heads of State [of the organization], Iran's full membership will be formalized, and a memorandum of commitment by Belarus will be signed, which will also launch the procedure for its full accession to the Shanghai [cooperation] organization," he said.
Furthermore, Lavrov stated that the group also welcomes new dialogue partners. "From now on, the SCO space, taking into account both new members and dialogue partner states, stretches from Europe and the Middle East to South and Southeast Asia," he added.
The declaration establishing the SCO was signed in Shanghai in June 2001 by six states: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The organization currently also includes India and Pakistan.
This year, New Delhi presides over the SCO. The summit of the organization is set for July 4. The meeting of the SCO leaders would take place in an online format, as previously stated by the Indian Foreign Ministry.
