TEHRAN- Iran and India should exploit the capacities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to strengthen their bilateral economic cooperation, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has said.

In a meeting with Deputy National Security Advisor Vikram Misri on Tuesday, Amir Abdollahian praised New Delhi’s support for Iran’s full membership in the SCO, which was accepted during the 23rd SCO Council of Heads of State, which was hosted by India on Tuesday.

Iran’s top diplomat also emphasized the relevance of India’s strategic plan to develop a portion of Iran’s Chabahar port, saying there are no restrictions on the development of ties between Tehran and New Delhi.

He reiterated the desire for the Chabahar project and the North-South Corridor to enter a new phase through the cooperation of the two nations.

The Indian diplomat, for his part, hailed Iran’s accession as a full member to the SCO, saying that it would open up new possibilities for enhancing bilateral ties.

Misri continued by saying that he had productive discussions with his Russian and Iranian colleagues on the advancement of the North-South Corridor as well as methods for resolving logistical and administrative issues.

In order to increase commerce with Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asian countries, India has been building a part of Chabahar on Iran’s southeast coast along the Gulf of Oman.

In March, the second shipment of equipment from India arrived in Chabahar, putting New Delhi one step closer to finishing the two terminals it is building at the port.

In his speech to the SCO summit on Tuesday, Ebrahim Raisi, the President of Iran, said the Islamic Republic has consistently stated its complete support for ongoing megaprojects like the North-South Corridor and the Belt and Road Project.

The landlocked nations of Central Asia are crucially connected to the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean thanks to the port of Chabahar and the Chabahar-Sarkhs routes, he said.

The president reaffirmed Iran’s resolve to finish the transit line.

Iran’s full membership to the SCO was announced during the 23rd summit of the SCO in New Delhi. 

At the summit, Iran was introduced as the ninth member of the bloc, with other member states welcoming it. 

The process of Iran moving from an observer status to a main member started in September 2021 when President 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.”