Armenia applies to join Shanghai Cooperation Organization, says prime minister

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Armenia has applied to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced on Wednesday.

Speaking at a news conference in Yerevan, Pashinyan said the government had submitted its membership application to the Eurasian political, economic, and security bloc.

"It fits well within our agenda of balancing and pursuing a balanced foreign policy. We will continue working on this," he stated.

Pashinyan emphasized that Armenia is already a partner of the SCO and described the move as "not impulsive but rather deliberate action."

Armenia aims to maintain a balanced foreign policy and establish partnerships across all directions – north, south, east, and west, he added.

Armenia’s Foreign Ministry officially declared on July 3 that Yerevan had expressed its intention to become a full-fledged SCO member.

Last summer, Mehdi Kiaei, Iran’s national coordinator in the SCO Secretariat, reported that Armenia, along with Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka, had submitted requests to obtain observer status.

The SCO currently has 10 members: China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus.