Iran becomes new permanent member of SCO at virtual summit hosted by India

Iran on Tuesday became the new permanent member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at an India-hosted virtual summit of the grouping.

In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the people of Iran on the country becoming a full member of the influential grouping.

"I extend my congratulations to President Raisi and the people of Iran on this occasion. We also welcome the signing of the Memorandum of Obligation for Belarus' SCO membership," he said.

"The interest of other countries in joining SCO today is a testament to the importance of this organisation," he said.

India hosted the summit in its capacity as the grouping's current chair.

The summit, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was joined by Chinese President Xi Jinping, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and other leaders of the grouping.

In his remarks, Raisi expressed hope that Iran's presence in the SCO will provide a platform for achieving collective security and sustainable development, as well as unity between the countries.

A declaration issued at the conclusion of the summit said the member states "stressed the historical significance of the admission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the SCO as a full member state".

"They also noted the importance of signing the Memorandum of Obligations by the Republic of Belarus to achieve the status of an SCO member state," it said.

The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017.