Russia would welcome upgrading Mongolia's status within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to a full-fledged member, Russian Ambassador to Mongolia Iskander Azizov told Sputnik
ULAANBAATAR (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd December, 2019) Russia would welcome upgrading Mongolia's status within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to a full-fledged member, Russian Ambassador to Mongolia Iskander Azizov told Sputnik.
"In 2004, Mongolia was the first country to be granted an observer status. It cooperates with the SCO in a number of areas. We will only hail the elevation of Mongolia's status to full membership within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. We assume that Mongolia will consider all the aspects of possible full-scale participation in the SCO and will make the only right choice that serves its national interests," Azizov said.
The ambassador noted that Mongolian politicians should make decisions based on the understanding of SCO documents, adding that current SCO members provide Mongolian state institutions and organizations with all the necessary information.
The SCO was established in 2001. The intergovernmental organization comprises eight member states: China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It also has four observer states � Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia � while Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Turkey are dialogue partners.
