TEHRAN – Iran has finished all the procedural measures required for the membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), becoming a full member of the regional bloc.

Iran’s membership was announced during the 23rd summit of the SCO in New Delhi. At the summit, Iran was introduced as the ninth member of the SCO, with other member states welcoming it into the organization. 

The process of Iran moving from an observer status to a main member started in September 2021 when Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi appeared at the 21st meeting of the heads of the organization in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan.

At the end of that meeting, the heads of the eight main member countries announced their approval of changing the status of Iran to a main member and signed the relevant documents. Accordingly, the technical process of Iran’s membership in the SCO kicked off.

Iran met all the requirements for the membership and fulfilled the procedural obligations in this regard. Ultimately, the Iranian parliament passed the “law of the accession of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.”

On Tuesday, President Raisi virtually participated in the 23rd Council of Heads of State of the SCO, where he delivered a speech as the president of a member state. The other participants welcomed Iran into the SCO. 

Iran becoming a full member comes a time when the world order is undergoing a major change in which the West is no longer dominant. This new order is marked by the rise of Asian superpowers and regional powers. 

With the SCO membership, Iran made a stride in terms of cementing its position in the emerging world order.

In his speech at the SCO summit, the Iranian president highlighted the need for a fairer world order in which the U.S. dollar is no longer the only dominant currency. 

In the beginning of his speech, Raisi appreciated Iran’s membership in the SCO. “I hope that Iran's presence in this important and influential organization will provide a platform for collective security, lead to sustainable development, expand links and communications, strengthen unity, respect the sovereignty of countries more than ever before, and provide synergies to deal with environmental threats,” he said. 

With respect to security, Raisi said “the Islamic Republic of Iran has made the policy of ‘neighborhood and convergence’ the basis of its foreign policy and considers it the best way to achieve regional peace and stability. With the experience of more than two decades of successfully fighting terrorism and extremism, the Islamic Republic of Iran has proven its commitment to ensuring security and fighting hegemony in the region, and is ready to share its experience and capabilities within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization mechanisms so that we can move towards a region free from terrorism, extremism and separatism.”

As regards economy, Raisi praised the economic capacities of the SCO and called for de-dollarization. “The Western hegemonic powers, by resorting to economic coercion and sanctions, have jeopardized the security and economic prosperity and the principles of fair trade in the world. Relying on the experience of the past decades, it is now quite evident that, along with militarism, what forms the basis of the Western domination system has been the dominance of the dollar and therefore any attempt to shape a fair international system requires the removal of this instrument of dominance in intra-regional relations. Expanding the use of national currencies in international trade and financial exchanges between the members of this organization and their business partners requires more serious attention. The Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes any move to introduce financial payment instruments based on modern technologies to facilitate financial exchanges between members and business partners, especially in multilateral frameworks,” he said. 

He continued, “Regarding strengthening links, general economic development requires the expansion of transit and transportation links and routes in the region. Expanding these links can help achieve the lofty goal of economic convergence only by respecting the sovereignty of countries.”

The president noted, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has always declared its full support for the existing mega-projects such as the North-South Corridor and the Belt-Road Project and has made it a priority. Chabahar ocean port and Chabahar-Sarakhs crossings play an irreplaceable role in connecting the landlocked countries of Central Asia to the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean, and we are determined to complete this transit route, and with the efforts of Iranian experts and the joint cooperation of Iran and Russia, the completion of the North-South Corridor rail route has entered the implementation stage.”

Raisi also underlined the need for unity and called for respect for the values and sanctities of the nations is a unifying principle.

“Regarding respect for the sovereignty of nations: multilateralism in the contemporary world means joint efforts and synergy of independent countries to achieve common good. Such a perception of multilateralism is in conflict with security alliances to promote violence and hostility with other countries. Real multilateralism is for the benefit of the nations and not for the powers. In the light of respecting the sovereignty of countries and relying on mutually beneficial cooperation, the lofty goals of security and sustainable development can be realized,” he stated. 

President Raisi also took a jab at the U.S., saying, “The government that is celebrating its independence anniversary today on the 4th of July violates the independence of many countries and has denied the right to self-determination from many nations, especially the Palestinian nation.”

The Iranian president also reiterated the need for protecting environment. “One of the most important threats that threatens the world community in the present era is climate change,” he said.