Belarus joins Shanghai Cooperation Organization as 10th member state

Belarus on Thursday joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), becoming its 10th member state.

"Belarus has completed all the necessary procedures on the way to SCO membership in a short period of time," Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said as he opened the second day of SCO sessions in Astana and proposed signing of the relevant protocols.

Belarus became a dialogue partner in the SCO in 2010 and an observer state in 2015.

The organization was founded in 2001 in Shanghai. Initially, it consisted of six countries -- Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. In 2017, India and Pakistan joined the bloc, and Iran in 2023.

There are two other observer states, Afghanistan and Mongolia, and 14 dialogue partners including Türkiye.