President: Kyrgyzstan Supports Iran’s Membership in SCO

Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev underscored his country’s support for Iran’s permanent membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), AVA Diplomatic reports.

“As the SCO’s permanent member, Kyrgyzstan is ready to support Iran’s initiative to join the Organization,” Atambayev said in his annual press conference in Bishkek on Friday.

Stressing that relations between Kyrgyzstan and Iran are at a desirable level, he said, “These ties have been growing in the past 5 years and Bishkek has and will always support Iran on the international scene.”

In relevant remarks in April, Kyrgyz Ambassador to Tehran Asanbeyk Osman Aliyev voiced his country’s full support for Iran to become a full member of the SCO.

“We support Iran’s permanent membership in the SCO as we believe it will add to SCO’s reputation,” Osman Aliyev said.

He, meantime, pointed to the status quo of Iran-Kyrgyzstan relations, and said, “Kyrgyzstan is willing to share Iran’s experiences in fighting against terrorism in Iraq and Syria.”

The SCO is an intergovernmental organization which seeks to strengthen mutual trust and good-neighborliness between the member countries; facilitate their effective cooperation in political, trade-economic, scientific-technical and cultural areas as well as in education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection; joint maintenance of peace, security and stability in the region; towards the creation of a democratic, just and rational international political and economic order.

It was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.