ABU DHABI: The UAE was officially granted Dialogue Partner status on the sidelines of the Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which took place in Goa, in the Republic of India, on May 4 and 5.
Dr. Abdulnasser Alshaali, UAE Ambassador to India, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning its accession to the SCO as a Dialogue Partner with Zhang Ming, Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
The granting of Dialogue Partner status epitomises the UAE’s consistent efforts to develop and maintain balanced and diversified partnerships with countries and multilateral organisations worldwide.
Reflecting upon the UAE’s partnership with the SCO, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, underlined the crucial role the SCO has played over recent decades in supporting political stability and economic prosperity throughout Eurasia and beyond.
He said: “As an engaged member of the international community with an unwavering commitment to multilateralism, the UAE recognises the critical importance of organisations such as the SCO in building bridges of cooperation between member states towards common objectives. In the coming period, the UAE will seek to make significant strides in its engagement with the SCO and its member states. As a people and country, we are delighted at being welcomed as a Dialogue Partner in an organisation whose global influence and importance only continue to grow.”
The SCO was founded in June 2001. he main objectives of the SCO are to strengthen relations among member states; promote cooperation in political affairs, economics and trade, science, culture, education, energy, transportation, tourism, and environmental protection; safeguard regional peace, security, and stability; and create an equitable international political and economic order.
The SCO’s member states are the People’s Republic of China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
SCO Observer States include the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of Belarus, and Mongolia.
The UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Maldives and Myanmar join existing SCO Dialogue Partners, which include Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Sri Lanka.
