Azerbaijan becomes SCO dialogue partner

Azerbaijan has signed a memorandum on granting it the status of dialogue partner in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The document was signed in Beijing by the SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov and Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

"Today, Azerbaijan has obtained, or more precisely registered, the status of a partner in dialogue. This is a great honor for us. Our relations started in 2012, when Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev sent an official letter to the SCO for Azerbaijan to obtain observer status," Elmar Mammadyarov said at the ceremony. "So, as you know, Azerbaijan's ambitions go beyond a status on dialogue ... I think that the current document creates an opportunity to start a dialogue with such a very important and very interesting organization," RIA Novosti cited Mammadyarov as saying.

"The status of dialogue partner in the SCO will allow the Republic of Azerbaijan to swiftly join the multifaceted and diversified activity of the organization through participation in the existing mechanisms of cooperation," Alimov noted, adding that the SCO is considering a memorandum "as an important contribution to the further development of the organization."

"This is especially important, as the SCO marks its 15th anniversary," TASS cited him as saying. The SCO Secretary General recalled that the organization’s summit will be held in Tashkent this June and the preparation for the event "is of priority importance" in the work of the group.

The ceremony was also attended by ambassadors and permanent representatives of the SCO member states.

A member of the Zinoviev Club, the director of the EurAsEC Institute, Vladimir Lepekhin, said in conversation with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza that "this is a long overdue step, since it has important political and geopolitical importance. Granting the SCO dialogue partner status is an indicator of the geopolitical choice of Azerbaijan and its integration into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization," he explained.

"Thus, Azerbaijan further enhances its status in the international arena, because it has shown that it has its own independent position. Of course, this gives Azerbaijan the possibility of economic development in terms of expanding contacts with the SCO member countries, especially with China. China today expresses increased interest in forging long-term relations in the Caucasus. That's why I consider this event to be a positive step," Vladimir Lepekhin stressed.

The political scientist Rovshan Ibragimov, in his turn, noted that this step is directly related to the balance of the policy pursued by Azerbaijan. "This policy requires equable relations with all international members, including the relevant international organizations. In recent years the importance of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has increased, the number of its members has also increased, in addition, there is a sufficient number of observers. It's a positive sign for Azerbaijan to participate in this forum. We should remember that the cluster that unites Russia, China, Central Asia, India and Pakistan was formed here," he said.

"Relations between Baku and Beijing are developing,  the target for the development of transport projects is clearly defined. At the same time, great attention is paid to strengthening relations with both Pakistan and India. Despite the fact that Azerbaijan has high-level political contacts with these countries, they require further economic development. Over the past few years Azerbaijan has been setting its participation in various groups as a priority, therefore its participation in the SCO as a dialogue partner is a self-evident event," Rovshan Ibrahimov concluded.

Recall, the decision to grant Azerbaijan dialogue partner status was made at the Ufa summit in July 2015.