Iran President wants SCO to counter US unilateralism
Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi has called on the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states to adopt new approaches so
as to confront the United States’ unilateralism.
Speaking at the 22nd meeting of the council of heads of the SCO member states in Samarkand on Friday, Raeisi said that the US administration seeks to impose its intentions and internal laws on the international system and independent states.
“There is no doubt that the US is after blocking these countries on their path to development,” he said.
He called on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to “adopt special measures to confront the United States’ unilateralism and cruel sanctions.”
One of the solutions, he continued, is forming sustainable trade between the SCO member states which requires joint development of infrastructure in the areas such as financial transactions.
Touching upon the issue of energy security and cooperation among members, Raeisi noted that owners of the world’s largest energy reserves as well as major energy-consuming countries are present in the SCO while other member states enjoy great potential for energy transit. “This combination is prone to the formation of diverse and effective cooperation in the field of energy.”
The remarks come as Iran is set to officially join the Shanghai Cooperation Council. The SCO was founded by China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan in 2001. It currently constitutes the world’s biggest regional market with eight official members, and three observer states.
Iran and the organization started a formal process for Tehran’s accession to the bloc in March. Iran’s membership in the body was later approved by the Iranian administration.
Elsewhere in his address, Raeisi said that Washington seeks to spread insecurity to other Asian regions. The Iranian president noted that pursuing policies of NATO “poses threat
to different regions,” pointing to what has happened in Syria and
Afghanistan as its examples.
