Sri Lanka Hopes To Become Full Member Of Shanghai Cooperation Organization - Defense Chief

Sri Lanka, which currently serves as a dialogue partner in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), hopes to be granted a full membership in the alliance soon, Sri Lankan Chief of the Defense Staff Adm. Ravindra Chandrasiri Wijegunaratne told Sputnik on the sidelines of the Army-2019 defense forum

PATRIOT PARK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th June, 2019) Sri Lanka, which currently serves as a dialogue partner in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), hopes to be granted a full membership in the alliance soon, Sri Lankan Chief of the Defense Staff Adm. Ravindra Chandrasiri Wijegunaratne told Sputnik on the sidelines of the Army-2019 defense forum.

Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Russia Dayan Jayatilleka told Sputnik in February that Colombo was aiming to increase the level of its participation in the SCO.

"The first thing we are looking for is to get the support by upgrading our observer status to a full member state ... I think that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is open. There are mostly Asian countries. China and Russia are strong partners. I think the Sri Lankan request will be considered very favorably," Wijegunaratne said when asked whether any negotiations on Colombo's accession to the organization were ongoing.

The SCO, established in 2001, comprises China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as permanent members. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia have observer status, while Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka have the status of a dialogue partner. The SCO states cooperate on a number of issues, including those pertaining to the economy, security, culture and science.

The 5th Army-2019 forum, which showcases modern arms and military equipment, started on Tuesday at the Patriot Expocenter just outside Moscow. The forum will run until Sunday.

Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency is an official media partner of the forum.