Iranian President Calls On SCO to Confront US Unilateralism

Speaking at the 22nd meeting of the council of heads of the SCO member states in Samarkand on Friday, Raisi said that the US administration seeks to impose its intentions and internal laws to the international system and the independent states.

The President described the signing of Iran's memorandum of commitments in this meeting and membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as an important step in the Islamic Republic's regional and international politics.

The full text of Dr Raisi's speech in this meeting is as follows:

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and His Peace and Blessings be upon Muhammad and His Pure Household and His Select Companions

His Excellency Mr Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Honourable President of the Republic Of Uzbekistan;

Honourable Presidents and Prime Ministers;

His Excellency Mr Zhang Ming, Secretary General of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation;

Honourable heads of high-ranking delegations;

First of all, I would like to express my pleasure to be in the beautiful and historical city of Samarkand.

I would like to express my gratitude to Mr Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the honourable President of Uzbekistan, the government and the people of this country for their warm welcome and sincere hospitality and for holding this meeting well.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a symbol of the "great civilisational family" of the ancient continent of Asia

Samarkand, Bukhara and Khwarazm have been magnificent and culture-creating cities that always shine like shining stars in Persian civilisation and poetry. Our greatest capacity for peace-making is our civilisational capacity. Now that this old continent has risen again, it must once again become a civilisation. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which is the symbol of this "great civilisation family", now stands in a position that can build new horizons of regional integration and security-building cooperation based on characteristics such as justice, spirituality and respect for human dignity.

Iran's attention to important regional arrangements shows its effort to establish a fair international system based on participation

"maximum interaction and unity" with the countries of the region, including the member countries of the Shanghai Organisation, and effective presence in regional and international arrangements, are the focus of the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In addition to playing a role in ensuring stability and security in the region, especially in dealing with takfiri terrorism and extremism, drug trafficking and other forms of international organised crime, as well as hosting millions of refugees from neighbouring countries, the Islamic Republic of Iran's strategy has "deepening economic multilateralism" on its agenda.

The attention of the Islamic Republic of Iran to important arrangements such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS shows our interest in participating in the efforts of aligned countries to establish a just, transcendent and partnership-based international system. These approaches, along with the broad capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, speed up and facilitate the future movement of the Shanghai Organisation.

America's unilateralism seeks to hold countries back from their independent development path,

Mr President;

Respected Colleagues;

In recent years, economic and political multilateralism has been seriously threatened, and the American government is trying to impose its internal demands and laws on the international community and countries with sovereignty and independence with all its bullying, and has put the extensive use of "coercion" on its agenda. Undoubtedly, American unilateralism seeks to hold countries back from their independent development path.

In dealing with unilateralism and oppressive sanctions, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation needs to adopt new solutions and special measures; One of them is the formation of sustainable trade among the members of this Organisation, which itself requires the joint development of infrastructure in the field of financial exchanges, commodity exchanges and data exchange between countries.

The financing of logistics and trade facilitation projects should be prioritised in the Organisation

Following international developments, member countries have turned to trade with each other more than in the past. This opportunity has arisen in a situation where infrastructural weaknesses can prevent the rapid development of trade between members. To overcome this challenge, in the field of financial infrastructure, it is necessary to prioritise the financing of logistics and trade facilitation projects.

In this regard, the mechanism of "Interbank Exchanges" and "Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Financing" can play an important role. In addition, acceleration in concluding free trade agreements and customs cooperation will play an important role in facilitating trade in the region.

Iran's transit capacities serve to strengthen transportation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

Along with financial-banking cooperation, I would like to highlight the important areas of transportation and energy security as two key and important areas for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Despite the impressive potential, infrastructural connections in the field of transit between the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation are not so extensive. Iran gives special priority to the development of the North-South Corridor and has made huge investments.

In addition, the China-Central Asia-West Asia-Mediterranean Sea Corridor, which has high potential, is currently described an "important part of the solution" for the development of trade between East and West Eurasia. With the cooperation of the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, it is possible to provide the necessary grounds for the implementation of this corridor and for the members to benefit from its advantages.

Shaping "sustainable transit" requires multilateral cooperation of members in the development of hard and soft infrastructure. The joint financing of the infrastructure of the North-South Corridor, as well as the China-West Asia-Mediterranean Sea Corridor and joint role in their implementation and management can be proposed as a solution in the form of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

I would like to announce that the transport and transit network of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as our port capacities in the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Oman Sea, and the Indian Ocean, serve to strengthen transportation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Readiness to host the Shanghai Organisation's Health Sector Cooperation Secretariat

Also, considering the importance of health in today's world and the place of health diplomacy in the synergy of governments in serving the nations, the Islamic Republic announces its readiness to host the Shanghai Health Sector Cooperation Secretariat and hereby it invites the ministers of the member countries to hold the first meeting of the Shanghai health sector in December of this year.

Iran's readiness to play an effective role in ensuring the security of energy supply

Dear colleagues;

The owners of the world's largest energy reserves are present in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation along with the major energy consuming economies. Other member countries also have great advantages of energy transit between production centres and consumption centres. This combination is prone to the formation of diverse and effective cooperation in the field of energy. Cooperation in areas such as the establishment of the electricity markets of the Shanghai Organisation and their connection with other electricity networks of the electricity market region being established in the ECO Organisation, as well as cooperation in meeting the oil and gas needs of the member countries, are among the notable cases.

Undoubtedly, convergence in the field of energy in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation will contribute significantly to further economic development and ultimately to the reduction of security and economic costs and stability in the region and beyond. The Islamic Republic of Iran, benefiting from its unique capacities such as 1) proximity to the world's two largest oil and hydrocarbon fields, that is the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea, 2) the oil and gas transportation network and a suitable transit location, and 3) expert manpower, is ready to play an effective role in this area and in order to solve the concerns of the members in ensuring the security of energy supply.

Designing a new security model in Asia based on deepening multilateralism without foreign interference

Mr President;

Dear Audience;

During the past few decades, our region has tasted the bitter taste of foreign intervention and the result has been nothing but the creation of terrorism and the spread of insecurity. The result is the situation we are currently facing in Afghanistan. Not only has America not learned from its failure in Afghanistan, but it continues to spread the policy of spreading insecurity and intervention to other regions of Asia.

The new security model in Asia should be formed on the basis of "joint development and deepening of multilateralism without the interference of foreign powers" so that collective measures can be implemented to deal with the challenges facing peace and development.

The Islamic Republic, as a country that has rich ideological and cultural foundations against extremism and takfiri terrorism, and has also successfully proven its capability and efficiency in this direction, believes that the production of international norms and regulations in the fight against terrorism should not be done by countries that breed terrorism themselves. The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that the only solution for sustainable peace in Afghanistan is the formation of an inclusive government that is the result of authentic intra-Afghan dialogues with the participation of all groups, ethnicities and religions.

Pursuing NATO policies in any way poses a threat to different regions

Experiences like Afghanistan and Syria should be a lesson and should be avoided. Pursuing NATO policies in any way poses a threat to different regions. The establishment of peace, stability and security in the Caucasus region is very important for the Islamic Republic of Iran. We have always emphasised on respecting territorial integrity, national sovereignty and rejecting any change in the recognised borders between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia. The parties should resolve their differences through dialogue and peacefully based on international law.

As the Islamic Republic of Iran protects its national interests and security and the region, it also declares its readiness to help resolve the disagreements between these two neighbouring countries.

Dear colleagues;

Signing the memorandum of commitments of the Islamic Republic of Iran in this meeting and becoming a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is an important step in the field of regional and international politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Certainly, with the active and effective presence of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, this membership will be recorded as one of the most important developments in the history of this Organisation.

I ask God for success for this important meeting and prosperity and well-being for the nations of the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

At the end of my speech, I feel it necessary to once again express my and my nation's sympathy with the people and government of Pakistan regarding the recent flood in this country.

Also, I sincerely thank the efforts of the President and the officials of Uzbekistan for the successful holding of this meeting.