Tehran, June 24, IRNA - Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in Tashkent from Hague, the Netherlands, Thursday morning to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) conference.


Iran�s membership to SCO is to be discussed in the which is to be held later on Thursday.

Iran has currently the observer status in the organization.

India and Pakistan joined SCO as permanent members last year.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic, and military organization which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

These countries, except for Uzbekistan had been members of the Shanghai Five, founded in 1996; after the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed the organization.

Zarif was in the Netherlands on the second leg of his three-nation tour which was started on June 21 with Paris, France, as its first destination.

By IRNA