TEHRAN - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday met his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, and expressed his happiness about Tehran joining the eight-member bloc.

The SCO heads of state are expected to finalize the admission of Iran and grant the status of a dialogue partner to Egypt, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.

Putin told Raisi that he was happy that Iran was joining the SCO.

“As we agreed with you, we have done everything for Iran to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Our partners in this organization have supported your application, all that is left is one last formality. It is indeed a formality, and Iran is joining this already serious, large, and authoritative international organization,” Russia’s state-run TASS news agency quoted Putin as saying.

Putin also stressed that Moscow and Tehran share similar views on many international issues.

He added, “Interregional ties are developing. We actively cooperate on the international arena and on many [points] our positions are close, or, as diplomats say, coincide.”

According to Press TV, Putin also said a delegation of 80 large Russian companies are set to visit Iran next week.

Founded in 2001, the current members of the SCO are India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, with Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia being the observer countries.

The partner countries to the SCO include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey, and Sri Lanka.

On Thursday, Raisi also met SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming and his counterparts from Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan, IRNA reported.

“Iran is a powerful, stable, and secure country in the region; and this is important for the SCO,” the SCO secretary general noted.

Ming described Iran’s membership in the organization as a move to upgrade the SCO.

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