Iran Press/Asia: Iran's Acting President, Mohammad Mokhber at the beginning of his speech said: "the memory of the Martyr President Seyed Ebrahim Raisi and the Martyr Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and their efforts and effective role in advancing multilateral diplomacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the past three years, especially completing Iran's membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is greatly cherished; meanwhile, I appreciate the expression of sympathy, condolences messages and those representatives of the member countries who participated in Iranian martyrs commemoration ceremony."
He added: "I would like to express my gratitude for the efforts made by Tokayev, the respected President of Kazakhstan, and the government of this country during the past year and the presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. I also congratulate Lukashenko and the people of the Republic of Belarus on the full membership of the Republic of Belarus in the organization. Also, Iran offers condolences to the Russian government and the people of Russia for the recent terrorist incidents in Darband and Makhach Qala, and we express our sympathy to the survivors of this bitter incident."
Mokhber continued to say: "Unfortunately, during the past 9 months and contrary to all international standards and any morals and human character, we have witnessed a wide wave of genocide, war crimes, mass killing of innocent women and children of Gaza by the Zionist regime.
He also noted "We strongly condemn the continuation of brutal and organized crimes by the Zionist regime with the support of the United States against the resistant and oppressed people of Gaza, which has stunned human society and left international organizations in inaction. We emphasize the necessity of effective measures by countries, especially by the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, to immediately stop the war crimes of the Zionist regime and the need to send immediate, sufficient and unhindered humanitarian aid to all of Gaza."
Mohammad Mokhber stated that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization offers great opportunities for cooperation in the fields of trade, production, energy, transportation, agriculture, customs, and telecommunications, as well as the development of technology which should be used for the benefit and the welfare of nations and the establishment of sustainable peace in the region and around the world.
The operation of transit corridors plays a key role in facilitating trade as well as economic development which also results in the political stability of the member countries.
Heading a delegation, Mokhber left Tehran for the Central Asian country on Wednesday evening.
In addition to delivering a speech to the summit, he will hold bilateral talks with a number of SCO heads of state on the sidelines of the event.
Mokhber also said " We believe that the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization can trade with the countries of the world through the North-South Corridor and the southern ports of Iran at a lower cost with a faster pace, Mokhber said.
Iran's Acting President said: "Considering that transit and commercial activities are complementary to each other, we suggest creating a "joint free zones network" and "establishing economic agreements such as preferential and free trade agreements" at the organization level."
The Islamic Republic of Iran is strongly opposed to the use of political tools, especially unilateral sanctions in the field of energy, and as a major producer of energy resources, especially oil and gas, it has always followed the policy of multilateralism in the field of energy; meanwhile, Iranhas actively participated in the drafting of the "Energy Cooperation Strategy of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization" document and supports its approval and implementation.
He said: "Fortunately, the issue of using national currencies and increasing their share in the settlement of trade exchanges between member countries has been seriously placed on the organization's agenda, and the Islamic Republic of Iran continues to negotiate with specialized working groups in this field until the ultimate goal is achieved, which is to reduce or eliminate the exchange of US dollar.
According to the experience gained under the organization's banking union, Mokhber said: "in our opinion, 'Establishment of the Shanghai Joint Bank' can improve the level of cooperation among the member countries in the financial and economic fields."
Also, the Islamic Republic of Iran declares its full readiness to implement the "operational program of scientific and technological cooperation among the member countries of the organization in prioritized areas", especially in the field of the latest medical technologies, biotechnology and artificial intelligence.
The Islamic Republic of Iran supports the documents and understandings made in the Shanghai Organization, including the comprehensive and long-term document "Organization Cooperation Development Strategy" and other related documents.
Mokhber said: "In the end, while congratulating the People's Republic of China as the next president of the Shanghai Organization, I would like to thank the friendly and brotherly government and nation of the Republic of Kazakhstan for their worthy hosting and warm hospitality."
I am confident that the decisions and agreements that will be made following the results of today's meeting will play a significant role in increasing the level of coordination to jointly deal with current and emerging threats and challenges, as well as improving the level of cooperation between member countries in various economic, political, scientific and cultural fields
Iran became a SCO member during the 23rd virtual summit of the bloc in July 2023.
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