Addressing the 21st summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Raisi said that Iran’s foreign policy has always been based on active participation in international bodies, as well as multilateralism.

Iran’s policy has been opposed to unilateralism, he further noted.

Bolstering bilateral cooperation, particularly in the economic field, is helpful in promoting the strategic role of SCO in the global economy, he underlined.

President Raisi along with top officials from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are present in the event, while presidents of Russia, China, India, and Mongolia take part in the summit via video conferencing.

“I hope that the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation will continue its proud path, which has made it a distinguished regional and international organization in a short time,” he stated.

Let me express “my satisfaction with attending this important and influential” meeting, which is one of the few opportunities for dialogue to ensure real peace and cooperation at the regional level, and I sincerely thank all the esteemed members for the permanent membership of Islamic Iran, he added.

Raisi pointed out that “cultural development is the first agenda of cooperation between civilized countries”.

“Most of the world’s cultural and spiritual treasury is located in Asia. Asia is the cradle of human civilization and its beating heart has been in China, India, Tajikistan, and Iran,” he underscored.

“Asian culture and civilization have always been associated with harmony, patience, politeness, mutual respect and benevolence, and in a nutshell, wisdom, and justice. The greatest Abrahamic religions have arisen in Asia,” he added.

“Spirituality is the eternal need of humanity and what today’s man has lost,” he said, noting that “the crisis of spirituality is the foundation of all crises in the world. Monopolies, violence, and human rights abuses are manifestations of the consequences of staying away from spirituality; Iran can play an important role in the development of cultural regionalism.”

When “I took over the presidency of the Islamic Republic, I introduced my foreign policy orientation” as focusing on “economic multilateralism” and strengthening “neighborhood policy” in its broadest sense, and strengthening its presence in regional organizations, he pointed out.

“The combination of Eurasia and One Road-One Belt initiatives can be an objective realization of this approach,” he said, adding that “the vast potential of the Islamic Republic of Iran in terms of geopolitics, population, energy, transportation, human resources, and most importantly spirituality, culture, and civilization can cause a significant stimulus to this outlook.”

This region has had a great cohesion throughout history, and the restoration of this cohesion is one of the features of the Shanghai Pact as emphasized by the Islamic Republic of Iran, he added.

He termed Asia as a land rich in civilizations and values, noting that Asia’s role on the international stage requires maintaining harmony between its nations and civilizations.

He went on to say that “Iran strengthens the harmony among Asian nations and civilizations”.