BEIJING, July 15. /TASS/. Belarus has officially filed a request to become a member state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the organization’s Secretary General Zhang Ming told reporters on Friday.

"Recently, Belarus officially filed a request to join the SCO as a full-fledged member," he said.

In his words, official membership procedures are to begin soon.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was established in June 2001 in Shanghai. Its current members are India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.