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Tehran, Iran Iran applies to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Approved after nearly 15 years It was proposed by the seven permanent members of the European Union on Friday.
After the technical and legal procedures are over-which may take up to two years-Iran will formally join a group that accounts for about one-third of the world’s land and exports trillions of dollars a year-because it includes In addition to a few Central Asian countries, China, Russia and India are among its members.
After returning from the Dushanbe summit in Tajikistan, President Ibrahim Reisi called the approval “diplomatic success”, which means linking Iran to Asia’s economic infrastructure and its rich resources.
In a speech at the two-day summit, he condemned the “unilateralism” of the United States and called for joint efforts to combat sanctions.
President Raisi held a series of high-level bilateral meetings during the SCO summit. These include the signing of eight agreements with the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon.
The two set a goal of 500 million U.S. dollars for annual bilateral trade, which is nearly 10 times higher than the current level.
Compared with major political or economic gains, Iran’s main gains from this success in the short term may be limited to the promotion of prestige and diplomacy.
Hamidreza Azizi stated that Iran’s main problem with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is that it regards it as a “coordination meeting of non-Western powers” rather than a modern international organization, and places it in an anti-Western or anti-American environment. , A visiting scholar at the German Institute of International and Security Affairs (SWP).
“Although Pakistan and India are close partners of the United States, even Russia and China have never been willing to challenge the United States publicly on the global stage,” Aziz told Al Jazeera.
“The combination of these two misunderstandings, and Iran’s self-recognition as the natural hegemon of West Asia, will allow Iranian leaders to see the whole thing, because Iran has formed a powerful alliance with other anti-Western powers. It challenges American hegemony.”
Aziz added that SCO member states are unwilling to get involved in Iranian competition, which may be why they also recognized Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt as “dialogue partners” on Friday to balance their efforts.
From a diplomatic point of view, approval is of great significance.
The country has been an “observer member” since 2005.
Last month, Iran’s security chief Ali Shamhani announced on Twitter that the “political obstacles” to formal membership were removed.
In addition to Persian, he also published this message in English, Arabic and Hebrew, indicating that this is also a message to the region and the West.
Iran’s previous application to join the SCO was blocked because it was sanctioned by the United Nations, and some member states, including Tajikistan, opposed it because Tehran believed it supported the Islamic movement in Tajikistan.
Warmly welcome the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s decision to approve #IranFull membership.
This is an important step in strengthening relations with neighboring countries and an important driving force for our Asia-centric foreign policy.
For the benefit of the region, we will continue to work to strengthen indigenous initiatives. pic.twitter.com/p66g5Sn0PP
— Said Khatibzad | Said Khatibzad (@SKhatibzadeh) September 17, 2021
According to Abas Aslani, a researcher at Tehran’s Middle East Strategic Research Center, this marks the first time Iran has become a full member of a major regional group since the 1979 revolution.
“Iran is subject to unilateral sanctions. This means that SCO members do not recognize these as international sanctions, which is why they accepted Iran’s request to become a full member,” Aslani told Al Jazeera.
He added that Iran is focusing on political and economic interests, especially with China (Iran signed a 25-year comprehensive cooperation agreement with China in March) and Russia (Iran is seeking to expand existing cooperation agreements).
“In addition, Iran has an important access to Central Asia, which can be regarded as an export market for Iranian goods,” Aslani said, adding that only time will tell how much of these potentials Iran can achieve.
Aslani believes that if US sanctions continue, they may become an obstacle to realizing these potentials, but they will not prevent Iran’s economic progress.
Iran and world powers held six rounds of talks in Vienna to restore the country’s 2015 nuclear agreement. If successful, the United States will lift sanctions.
Since late July, negotiations have been suspended to allow Raisi to form his government, but they are expected to resume soon.
“If the nuclear agreement is restarted, it will only be a wing. The other is the growing relationship with the East. This will happen regardless of whether the negotiations with the West are successful or not,” Aslani said.
“Marginal Direct Benefit”
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was developed from the “Shanghai Five” agreement in the mid-1990s. It is managed by consensus, which limits the scope of major cooperation among member states.
It is also more like a place for discussion and participation, where senior politicians from the region can gather for negotiation, rather than an alliance like the European Union or NATO, whose members have a common currency.
“Iran’s exaggerated claims about’non-Western’ powers and organizations (such as the SCO) accelerating the transfer of power balance from the United States conceal the fact that the SCO lacks the ability to promote deeper integration between these regions and powers,” Belfer Scientific Said Nicole Grajewski, a researcher with the International Security Project of the Center for International Affairs.
“The Russia-China-Iran axis has no formal commitments to resemble alliances, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will certainly not provide an institutional structure for such alliances,” she told Al Jazeera.
Grajewski said that SCO member states will provide Iran with a forum for closer contact with the region, but Tehran has enjoyed this as an observer country.
She added that although Iran, Russia, and China have discussed de-dollarization for decades, the volume of trade with the national currencies of Iran, Russia, and China has not been large, and they have not come close to the Global Interbank Financial Telecommunications Association. Launched alternative financial information services. (SWIFT) Global Financial Network.
The SCO is mainly a geopolitical and security organization. Its infrastructure is limited and economic integration cannot be achieved. Grajevsky stated that “the SCO’s direct economic benefits are minimal,” but member states can seek bilateral agreements.
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