Iran Urges SCO Action against Terrorism, Extremism, Sanctions
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s president called on the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to coordinate efforts in order to stem the growing threat of terrorism and extremism and to counter sanctions, which he said the West utilizes against the countries as a “destructive weapon”.
“Today, most of the SCO member states somehow encounter the threat of extremism and terrorism. So the organized planning, bilateral and multilateral cooperation, political and intelligence interactions, countering the cultural and economic poverty, and the support by heads of the member states for such measures would be the only way to counter the crisis and settle its growing problems,” President Hassan Rouhani said, addressing the 14th SCO summit, held in Tajikistan’s Dushanbe on Friday.
He also called on the SCO to devise plans to establish “stability, regional development and national welfare” for its members by playing a more active role in the international arena.
Rouhani underlined that prevailing stability and security across the region would require “economic, social, cultural and political development along with security and intelligence measures”, which would in turn eradicate terrorism in long term.
The Iranian president also lashed out at the West for using sanctions as a “tool” and turning it into a “destructive weapon” against any country it wants, including the SCO members.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that countering sanctions should become a principle for the SCO and its members, and interactions among member states and the improvemnt of bilateral ties should be organized free from the cruel pressures imposed by sanctions,” he stressed.
The SCO is an intergovernmental organization that was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Observer states include Iran, India, Afghanistan, Mongolia and Pakistan.
Turkey, Sri Lanka, Belarus and Turkmenistan have also attended the gathering as special guests.
The SCO member states occupy a territory of around 30 million and 189 thousand square kilometers, which makes up around three fifths of the Eurasian continent, and have a population of 1.5 billion, which makes up a quarter of the planet’s population according to the SCO official website.