MOSCOW, September 9. /TASS/. More and more countries want to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) each year, SCO Secretary General Vladimir Norov said in an open interview with TASS First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman on Wednesday.
"The SCO authority grows every year, as more and more countries are willing to join cooperation within the organization in a variety of statuses, ranging from dialogue partners to permanent memberships," he said. "Unconditionally, we appreciate this and are engaged in dialogue, but I want to emphasize that along with that, extension of the SCO family is not a goal in itself, since the organization’s current cumulative potential needs to be effectively implemented."
The Secretary General pointed out that the dialogue with observers is among priorities in SCO activity.
"We think cooperation with them is promising, including counterterrorism efforts, implementation of the anti-drugs strategy and the program of commercial and economic cooperation," Norov said.
"A decision of joining the SCO from a dialogue partner to a member of the organization is taken based on consensus, and each country is considered separately. Showing activity increases the chances of joining," he added.
Currently, eight states are the SCO permanent members, namely Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Four more nations (Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia) have an observer status. SCO’s dialogue partners are six states (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey, Sri Lanka).