The 18th Summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation began on Sunday in China’s Qingdao city with President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Dr Hassan Rouhani taking part.
Upon arrival at the summit hall, President Rouhani and other heads of state were welcomed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and then posed for a photo.
Rouhani is scheduled to address the summit and explain Iran’s stances.
SCO’s member states are China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan, observer states are Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia, and dialogue partners are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka.
In his speech, president Rouhani emphasized: "In order to have a more secure, more stable, and more developed region, we need to focus on our common and shared interests on a long-term basis".
The Iranian president added: "Iran is an independent and reliable partner , and is actively looking to expand its economic cooperation with regional countries, as well as with the wider international community."
Elsewhere in his remarks, president Rouhani said: "there is no doubt that unilateralism will lead to a weakening of regional convergence. And thus, we have to say, America's attempts to impose its policies on other countries is "a real danger which is expanding and spreading".
He added: "The most recent example of US cocking a snook at the international community, and ignoring the views of other countries, was when it decided unilaterally to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal (the JCPOA). Iran has abided by all of its commitments and obligations under the JCPOA , and this has been repeatedly verified by the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, on 11 occasions".
