Erdogan says he aims to make Turkey a member of Shanghai Cooperation Organization

The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has confirmed that his goal is for the country to become a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), he said in statements to journalists after attending the summit of that alliance as a “special guest” at the invitation of his counterpart in Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The Turkish leader has expressed his will that the relations with the countries that form the SCO “move to a very different position”, according to the Turkish agency ‘Anadolu’. In addition, Erdogan pointed out that his attendance as a guest marks “a significant step in this direction”.

Likewise, the Turkish leader has affirmed that the rest of the countries participating in the meeting have appreciated Turkey’s “mediating” role in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. “Almost all the leaders with whom I met and thanked us especially for the role we played in reducing the tension in the war between Russia and Ukraine,” he has recounted.

Erdogan has put the value on the path that the SCO has taken in terms of security, economy and trade since it was established and assured that the “decisive” role of the Asian continent in the world economy “is already evident.” “The Organization’s members produce more than 30 percent of the world’s gross domestic product with an economic size reaching $20 billion (a similar amount in euros),” he said.

Turkey’s president believes that the future of the country is linked to this organization. “It started as the ‘Shanghai Five,’ but it is no longer a quintet. Currently, the number of members has reached nine. It has three observer members. There are also nine countries that are dialogue partners like us,” he replied to the press.