Belarus will be the first fully European state to become a full member of the SCO. This came to attention of Yuri Yarmolinsky, analyst at the Belarusian Institute of Strategic Research, during the round table "The uniting potential of the SCO in an emerging multipolar world", which was held at the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Minsk.
This is not a new situation for us. In 2010, when we became the Organization's dialogue partner, and in 2015, when we became an observer, we used to say that we are the first European country to move along this path.
Today, the SCO is at another historical stage of its development. And Belarus can contribute to this process, which will help support multilateralism.
Our country's accession to the Organization will help advance initiatives that Belarus put forward as an observer in the SCO.
It should be noted that Belarus' economic relations with the SCO states have more than doubled as compared to 2010. Despite the fact that there is growth with some countries and fluctuations with others, the general trend is exactly the same.
Today, we can talk in general about consolidating interconnectivity of the Eurasian space. The external challenges we face only work to boost the SCO's potential.