By Bartholomew Madukwe with Agency report
As major powers scramble to save Iran’s nuclear deal after the United States pulled out, the Chinese government on Monday said it would host Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, at a summit aimed at creating new agreements on security issues such as counter-terrorism and drug smuggling among the seven member bloc.
Since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States this month, calling the agreement deeply flawed, European states have been scrambling to ensure Iran gets enough economic benefits to persuade it to stay in the deal.
Iranian President is among guests expected at the summit of the China and Russia-led security bloc the Shanghai Cooperation Organization from June 9-10, reports Reuters.
Iran is currently an observer member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, though it has long sought full membership.
At a briefing, Chinese deputy foreign minister, Zhang Hanhui, urged China and Iran to look into how to avoid major disruption of joint projects between the two sides.
“Our hope is that China and Iran will have close consultation on the basis of observing the deal and push forward development of bilateral cooperation,” Hanhui stated.
Russia has previously argued that with Western sanctions against Tehran lifted, it could finally become a member of the bloc which also includes four ex-Soviet Central Asian republics, Pakistan and India.
The 2015 agreement between Iran and world powers lifted international sanctions on Tehran. In return, Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear activities, increasing the time it would need to produce an atom bomb if it chose to do so.
China has also strongly supported the deal and is one of its signatories.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as the leaders of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, were also invited to hold official bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the summit, the foreign ministry said.
Jointly led by Russia and China, the SCO was launched in 2001 to combat radical Islam and other regional security concerns. India and Pakistan became full members last year.
Iran has long eyed an SCO membership and China has said it supports its application.
Victor Gotevbe is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of Diplomatic Watch. He is the Managing Director of Conduit Communications Limited.
