Belarus ratifies memorandum of accession to SCO
MINSK. Nov 29 (Interfax) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has signed the memorandum of Belarusian obligations in the accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) approved by the parliament.
The document was published on the national website of legal information on Wednesday.
"To ratify the memorandum of obligations of the Republic of Belarus for receiving the status of a member state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which was signed in New Delhi on July 4, 2023," it said.
The Belarusian government is tasked with "taking measures to formalize the participation of the Republic of Belarus in the memorandum," the document said.
SCO member states named the memorandum ratification as a condition necessary for admitting Belarus to the organization.
For instance, Belarus undertakes to honor the goals and principles of the SCO charter, provisions of the treaty on long-term neighborliness, friendship and cooperation between member states, and international agreements and documents approved by the SCO.
Belarus pledges to join every international agreement and document adopted by the SCO within the timeframe set by the memorandum.
The memorandum sets the procedure for appointing Belarusian citizens to the positions in permanent SCO bodies assigned by the quota, and financial aspects of the Belarusian entry into the organization. For instance, the Belarusian membership in the SCO would require annual contribution to the organization's budget. The Belarusian share in contributions to the SCO budget will be 5.8%, the Belarusian parliament said earlier.
Starting from 2024, the Belarusian budget will assign funds to the Belarusian Foreign Ministry for paying the annual contribution as part of international activities. According to the Belarusian parliament, the relevant state agencies will implement the international agreements with the funds allotted from the national budget for operation of those agencies without any additional allocations.
The SCO comprises India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.