Nepal received SCO dialogue partner status

Almaty. March 24. Silkroadnews - Nepal has been officially granted dialogue partner status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Russian mass-media reported.

The relevant memorandum has been signed at the SCO headquarters in Beijing with the participation of the organization’s Secretary-General Rashid Alimov and Prime Minister of Nepal Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli.

“Nepal would like to become a part of the SCO. Nepal will abide by the principles and will be guided by the values of this reputed international organizations,” – Nepal’s Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kamal Thapa said.

The political decision to grant observer status to Cambodia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nepal was taken in July 2015 at the SCO summit in Ufa. Phnom Penh and Baku have already legalized their status. The signing of the memorandum with Armenia is scheduled for April 16.

The organization unites Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It is expected that this June in Tashkent the accession will be confirmed for India and Pakistan. Iran and Afghanistan, which are currently observer states, have submitted applications for full-fledged membership.

As a total, including the SCO observer states and dialogue partners, the organization unites 18 countries.