The Saudi cabinet approved today, Wednesday, the decision to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as Riyadh embraces a long-term partnership with China, despite US security concerns.
The Saudi Press Agency said that the Kingdom had agreed to a memorandum on granting Saudi Arabia the status of a dialogue partner in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a Eurasian international organization, founded in the form of a political, economic and military alliance, in the Chinese city of Shanghai, on June 15, 2001, by 6 countries at first, namely: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. These countries, with the exception of Uzbekistan, were members of the "Shanghai Five", which was established on April 26, 1996 in Shanghai.
Iran also signed full membership documents in the organization last year, and sources told Reuters that Saudi Arabia's accession to the organization was discussed during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the kingdom.
The sources added that the status of the dialogue partner will be a first step before granting the kingdom full membership in the medium term.
The decision comes after Saudi Aramco announced on Tuesday that it had increased its investment in China by several billion dollars by completing a planned joint venture in northeastern China and acquiring a stake in a private petrochemical group.
The growing relations between Riyadh and Beijing raise concerns in Washington, a traditional ally of the kingdom. Washington says China's attempts to exert influence around the world will not change US policy toward the Middle East.
The member states of the organization intend to hold a "joint anti-terrorism training" in Chelyabinsk, Russia, in August of this year.
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