Kyrgyzstan backs Iran’s permanent membership in SCO

Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev has thrown his country’s weight behind Iran’s permanent membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and his Kyrgyz counterpart issued a joint statement on Monday at the end of Atambayev’s official two-day visit to the Islamic Republic.

The Kyrgyz president expressed confidence that Iran’s permanent membership in the SCO in the future would help increase the organization’s capacities.

Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are the six permanent members of the SCO. Iran, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia have observer status at the organization.

According to the statement, the Iranian and Kyrgyz presidents stressed the importance of constant consultations as well as mutual support of the two countries in international organizations such as the United Nations.

It added that the two presidents exchanged views on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and insisted on the right of all signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in line with international regulations.

Rouhani and Atambayev expressed concern over the ongoing crises in the region, particularly in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen and discussed ways to find political solutions to the conflicts without any foreign interference.

They condemned all types of terrorism and dismissed as “unacceptable” the attribution of acts of terror to a specific nation, culture or religion.

The two presidents also urged bilateral, regional and international cooperation to fight terrorism, religious extremism, organized crimes, smuggling of arms and narcotics as well as human trafficking.

They also stressed the importance of strengthening Tehran-Bishkek relations in political, economic and cultural fields.

During his stay in Tehran, Atambayev held talks with the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, as well as senior Iranian officials, including President Rouhani, Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Chairman of the Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

The two countries inked eight memoranda of understanding on cooperation in the fields of agriculture, extradition of criminals, media, energy, air transportation and consular affairs as well as cooperation between the two sides’ chambers of commerce.

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