Belarus expecting admission to SCO in July - Lukashenko

MINSK. March 4 (Interfax) - Belarus plans to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in July 2024, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said.

"It's planned that the next SCO summit will take place in Astana approximately in July this year. It would be very symbolic and we would welcome it if Belarus becomes a full member of the SCO in Astana in particular. We will ask you for that," Lukashenko said at a meeting with Kazakh Ambassador to Belarus Yerlan Baizhanov, as quoted by the Belarusian state-run news agency BelTA.

Kazakhstan is chairing the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the SCO, Lukashenko said. "Naturally, a lot depends on the chairmanship. Our Foreign Ministry should intensify this work," he said.

SCO Deputy Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev did not rule out that Belarus might become a full member at the next SCO summit in Astana in summer.

Founded in 2001, the SCO is an international organization comprising India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia are observers, and Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, the UAE, Turkey and Sri Lanka are partners. Belarus signed a memorandum of obligations in July 2023 to become an SCO member.