RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s cabinet on Wednesday approved to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as a “dialogue partner,” state media reported on Wednesday, signaling the latest step towards Riyadh’s closer political ties with China.
SCO was founded in 2001 as a rival to Western political, economic, and security institutions. Its eight members are China, India, Pakistan, Russia, and four Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.
According to the official Saudi Press Agency, the Saudi cabinet approved the decision at a meeting with King Salman on Tuesday. The move would give Riyadh “the status of a dialogue partner in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization,” according to the statement.
Egypt, Iran, and Qatar are other countries having observer or dialogue partner status.
Improvement in Saudia-Iran ties
Riyadh’s decision to join the bloc comes less than three weeks after it revealed a historic China-brokered reconciliation deal with Iran to restore full diplomatic ties, which were severed seven years ago. While Riyadh had previously held bilateral talks with Tehran, the reconciliation process was accelerated by President Xi Jinping’s offer last year to serve as a “bridge” between the two Middle Eastern heavyweights.
Given Saudi Arabia’s historically close relationship with the US, Xi’s role in the rapprochement raised eyebrows. In his first public comments on the matter since the Saudi-Iran agreement, Xi stated that the dialogue promoted by China would “play a major role in strengthening regional unity and cooperation.”
—AFP
