Belarusian Minister of Economy Yury Chebotar has expressed high expectations for becoming a part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), emphasizing the organization's role as a valuable dialogue platform and its commitment to multipolarity and non-interference in other countries' internal affairs.
Belarus officially joined the SCO on Thursday, becoming its 10th member state.
The decision was made at the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO, held in Astana, Kazakhstan, on July 3-4. The SCO enlargement was a core focus of the summit.
Chebotar hailed the SCO's progress since its inception, expressing optimism about his country's admission to the organization.
"This organization has come quite a long way since its creation. It seems to be a young organization, but when we look at its economic agenda, this has been deeply discussed. The social, humanitarian, and political agendas have also been discussed in depth. Belarus has high expectations for working with the organization," said Chebotar.
According to the minister, joining the SCO provides an opportunity for Belarus to have a dialogue platform to discuss and increase the common good with other member countries.
"It [SCO] is indeed an organization that promotes multipolarity within the countries that participate. It advocates non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, especially in economic affairs. It extends support to countries, including those who are currently facing sanctions from many others," said Chebotar.
The SCO was established in 2001 with the "Shanghai Spirit" being its founding values, which champions mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations and pursuit of common development. Now, it has 10 member states, two observer states and 14 dialogue partners.
Belarus has high expectations for joining Shanghai Cooperation Organization
