Riyadh joins SCO as ties grow with Beijing

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that grants the Kingdom the status of a dialogue partner in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Tuesday.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a Eurasian political, economic, international security and defence organization. It includes India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, with Iran set to join soon.

The approval came during a Saudi cabinet session headed by the King at the al-Salam Palace in Jeddah, according to SPA. Dialogue partner status will be a first step within the organisation before granting the kingdom full membership in the mid-term, they said.

During the session, King Salman also authorized the launch of technical and vocational training between the Kingdom and China. The Saudi leader also condemned the burning of the holy Quran outside the Turkish embassy in Denmark that took place last Friday, stressing the need to consolidate the values of dialogue, tolerance and respect.

Saudi Arabia and China have made significant efforts to develop relations between the two countries. On Tuesday, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman thanked China for the role it played in facilitating “good neighbourly relations” between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

On March 10, Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to restore diplomatic ties through a Chinese mediation after the two nations severed ties in 2016. Iran also signed documents for full SCO membership last year.