The Iranian Intentions behind Joining the SCOOn the 25th March 2008

 China welcomed Iran’s desire to strengthen cooperation in all spheres with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) following its official application in April 2007 to become a full member. With the SCO currently growing into strategic alliance between several of the worlds leading energy producers and two of its most hungry consumers; the United States saw an opportunity to establish itself in the region and therefore lobbied for observer status in 2005, however the request was denied. Since then, we have seen the SCO assume an ideological mantle of growing anti-Americanism.

Committed to establishing a new international political and economic order, the association of East Asian states known as the SCO was founded as an intergovernmental organization in Shanghai on15th June, 2001. Its six founding countries; China, Russia Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, with Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan holding roles as country observers, have asppired to mitigate the influence of US power in the region, therefore Iran’s application for full membbership has crucial, and possibly underlying aspects to its reasoning. Therefore we would like to present some information about the SCO to specifically present the benefits Iran would gain by full membership.

An Overview of the SCOThe SCO’s predecessor

 the Shanghai Five mechanism, originated and grew from the endeavour by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to strengthen confidence-building and disarmament in the border regions. In 1996 and 1997, their heads of state met in Shanghai and Moscow respectively to sign off on the treaty for Deepening Military Trust in border regions and the treaty on Reduction of Military Forces in Border Regions and thereafter this annual meeting became a regular practice and has been held alternately in the five member states. The topics of the meetings gradually extended from building up trust in the border regions to mutually beneficial cooperation in politics, security, diplomacy, economics, trade and other areas of interest among the five states.