Azerbaijan has officially applied to upgrade its status within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) from a dialogue partner to an observer state.

According to Report, the news was revealed by Mehrdad Kiaei, Iran's national coordinator in the SCO Secretariat, in an interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia. Kiaei stated, "Several countries have applied for membership, including Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Armenia, Bangladesh, Azerbaijan, and others. These countries (except Bangladesh) want to change their status from dialogue partner to observer."

The SCO, founded in 2001, has been steadily growing in influence and membership. Originally established by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, the organization expanded in 2017 to include India and Pakistan as full members.

Kiaei explained the process: "First, they must become observers, and only then can they become full participants." He added that Bangladesh, which is not currently a dialogue partner, could potentially skip this stage and directly apply for observer status, provided all member states agree.