[Photo/sectsco.org]

On 5 May 2023, the concerned parties signed memorandums on granting SCO dialogue partner status to the State of Kuwait, the Republic of Maldives, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and the United Arab Emirates, on the sidelines of the SCO Foreign Ministers Council Meeting in Panaji, the Republic of India.

[Photo/sectsco.org]

SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming signed the memorandums on behalf of the organisation. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Kuwait to the Republic of India Jasem Ibrahem Al Najem, High Commissioner of the Republic of Maldives in the Republic of India Ibrahim Shaheeb, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar to the Republic of India Moe Kyaw Aung and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Arab Emirates to the Republic of India Abdulnasser Jamal Alshaali signed the documents on behalf of the respective countries that have received this status.

[Photo/sectsco.org]

The signing ceremony completed the legal procedure to implement the relevant decision, which was adopted at the SCO Heads of State Council Meeting in Samarkand, the Republic of Uzbekistan, in 2022.
Under the memorandums, the above countries are planning to interact with the SCO in the spheres of regional security and stability, trade and investment, energy, IT, agriculture, transport and communications, culture, science and technology, education, healthcare and tourism.
SCO dialogue partner status allows the concerned countries to take part in specialised intra-SCO events at the invitation of the member states.