Azerbaijan Officially Becomes SCO Dialogue Partner

After more than 3 years-long negotiation process and signing a corresponding memorandum, Azerbaijan has officially become the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) dialogue partner on Monday.

BEIJING (Sputnik) — Azerbaijan officially joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as a dialogue partner on Monday, after signing a corresponding memorandum.

Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and SCO Secretary General Rashid Alimov inked the memorandum during a ceremony in Beijing.

"Today, Azerbaijan obtained, or more precisely, registered the status of a dialogue partner. It is a great honor for us," Mammadyarov said.

He stressed that Azerbaijan would like to go further within the organization.

Azerbaijan applied for observer status in 2012. The decision to grant Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Armenia, and Nepal the dialogue partner status was made at the Ufa summit in July.

The SCO is a political, economic and military alliance founded in 2001 by Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Belarus, Mongolia, Iran, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan hold observer status in the organization.