Belarus becomes Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana opened with the conclusion of documents on the admission of Belarus into the organization, RIA Novosti reports.

“Dear heads of state, the decision on the full membership of the Republic of Belarus in the SCO has been adopted,” Kazakhstani President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.

Afterward, he congratulated Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

“Your country completed all the necessary procedures on the way to full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in a short period of time,” Tokayev added.