Samarkand (Uzbekistan), Sep 13 The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is set to expand at its upcoming summit in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, the host nations President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has announced.
The SCO is the largest regional bloc in the world, comprising eight members including Russia, China and India, RT reported.
In an article published on his official website on Monday, Mirziyoyev expressed confidence that the event scheduled for September 15-16 will "mark the birth of a new stage" in the organisation's history.
"The number of [SCO] members will grow, and its future agenda will be formed, and this is highly symbolic," the leader of the Central Asian nation wrote, RT reported.
There are currently eight full members of the group: India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan.
Two countries – Iran and Belarus – are in the process of joining the SCO and have observer status, along with Afghanistan and Mongolia.
Mirziyoyev believes the Samarkand gathering will be remembered for the launch of "a new, inclusive dialogue".
In a world suffering from a "deep crisis of trust" and geopolitical confrontation, the SCO should become "a pole of attraction without dividing lines, in the name of peace, cooperation and progress", he stated.
One of the key goals of the SCO is to expand its cooperation with Afghanistan which, Mirziyoyev believes, "should try on a new peaceful mission of connecting Central and South Asia".
The SCO encompasses 40 per cent of the world's population, and more than 30 per cent of global GDP.
In September 2021, the SCO had launched technical procedures for Iran's admission. Russian President Vladimir Putin's Special Envoy for SCO Affairs, Bakhtiyor Khakimov, said at the time that the accession process would take a considerable amount of time.
Belarus was the latest country to apply for SCO membership. Its bid was announced by Khakimov in June this year, RT reported.
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