Iran SCO accession to play key role in circumventing sanctions: Expert

Tehran, IRNA – Iran's membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is of great importance in dodging the US-imposed sanctions and breaking dollar-euro dominance, an Iranian economist said. Abbas Alavi Rad, a member of the International Iranian Economic Association (IIEA), told IRNA on Monday that multilateral financial contracts are considered a good mechanism to break the dollar-euro dominance and that Iran's full accession to the SCO can create diverse monetary systems. Iran was fully accepted as an official member of the SCO on Friday at the Samarkand summit, where heads of state from China, Russia, India, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Turkey, Azerbaijan Republic, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran took part in the 22nd summit of the organization. Alavi Rad also said that the timing of the accession is important for the Islamic Republic because it is under cruel sanctions, so the membership can provide Iran with economic, political, and regional advantages. The member states of the SCO have already been pursuing appropriate interactions with Iran, for instance, India, China, and Russia continued economic exchanges with the Islamic Republic, he mentioned. In terms of foreign trade, some of the SCO member states such as Armenia enjoy economic interactions with Iran; thus, expansion of trade ties will be beneficial for Tehran both in the short and the long term. Some Iranian companies do not have the opportunity to conduct foreign trade due to the illegal sanctions, so the SCO membership helps them play a role in international markets, he added. Iran has not been successful in absorbing foreign investments in previous years, but given the diversity of the SCO member states in terms of volume of economy, direct investment in the country can be facilitated, he opines. Iran is located in a special geographical and strategic location, he said, adding that it enjoys unique transit conditions. Many countries in the world have decided to break the domination of important currencies, so Russia-Iran cooperation can be a proper kick-start in this regard, the analyst said, urging that the SCO member states should attempt to break the US dollar domination to become a paradigm. He also emphasized that precise studies are needed regarding monetary contracts, adding that Iran's membership in the SCO can pave the way for creating diverse monetary systems. Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish