Bishkek (GNP): Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian outlined Tehran’s vision for deeper financial, trade and energy cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), addressing the 26th SCO Summit of heads of state in Bishkek on Tuesday with a set of proposals aimed at strengthening both the security and economic dimensions of the bloc.
Pezeshkian told fellow leaders that confidence-building, respect for state sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs and cooperation among governments remain essential to achieving sustainable security, drawing on the organization’s more than two decades of activity.
He pointed to threats including terrorism, violent extremism, drug trafficking, transnational organized crime and cybercrime, alongside intensifying geopolitical rivalries and the use of force and military power, as key concerns for countries in the region and emerging economies more broadly.
Turning to recent regional developments, the Iranian president said events in West Asia, including in Iran, Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank, have shown that disregard for international law and reliance on force and pressure threaten not only individual countries but the stability of the entire region and the world.
He described attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran as aggression against the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, characterizing them as an assault on a fellow SCO member state, and thanked the organization and member countries that condemned the aggression and expressed solidarity with Iran.
On the broader diplomatic track, Pezeshkian recalled that nearly three months of negotiations mediated by Pakistan and Qatar produced the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, but said the United States’ commitment to the agreement lasted less than two weeks before excessive demands and non-compliance began and have continued since.
He said Iran’s response to the alleged US violations had been proportionate, and stated that Tehran would immediately reciprocate if Washington returned to its commitments under the memorandum.
Framing security and development as interdependent, Pezeshkian called on the SCO to address both dimensions simultaneously and put forward three economic initiatives: establishing an SCO Bank to deepen financial and banking cooperation, reduce reliance on the US dollar and support alternative mechanisms for trade, investment and infrastructure financing, particularly in energy and transportation; creating an Export Insurance and Investment Union to support trade and investment among member states; and forming an SCO Energy Consortium to strengthen energy security across the bloc.
He also proposed a strategic security studies center within the organization tasked with identifying emerging threats and contributing to regional stability, and cited intra-organizational trade, customs facilitation, transport corridors, port and logistics connectivity, transit capacity and supply chain resilience as priority areas for economic cooperation.
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Beyond the summit proceedings, Iran also moved to translate its SCO membership into concrete projects with Kyrgyzstan. During talks with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Pezeshkian welcomed Bishkek’s proposal for a joint oil refinery in Kyrgyzstan, with Iran offering to supply the required crude oil and cooperate on refined products, and proposed establishing a Kyrgyz logistics center at Bandar Abbas that could give landlocked Central Asian economies greater access to the Persian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent and East Asian markets.
Such alternative Eurasian corridors sit at the center of the SCO’s shared interests, and for Iran in particular, facing long-standing sanctions with more potentially ahead, diversified and localized trade routes represent a significant economic lifeline.
Masoud Pezeshkian said, “Confidence-building, respect for sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs are essential to achieving sustainable security.”
Masoud Pezeshkian said, “If the United States returns to its commitments under the memorandum of understanding, Iran will immediately take reciprocal measures.”
Managing Editor at Global News Pakistan (GNP), with a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from Riphah International University, graduated with a Gold Medal. Reach out at sabahtareengnp@gmail.com
