BEIJING, Sept 3 — Malaysia sees no need to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) for now, said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
Instead, he said, Malaysia should focus on strengthening Asean while exploring opportunities to enhance its engagement and cooperation with the SCO.
“We already have Asean, and Asean must be empowered aside from establishing a better relationship with the SCO,” he told Malaysian media covering Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s four-day working visit to China here.
Mohamad accompanied Anwar on the visit to Beijing and Tianjin.
The foreign minister said Anwar was invited by Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend the SCO Summit, and delivered remarks at the SCO Plus Summit.
“The prime minister was invited as a special guest and was given the opportunity to speak at the forum. For the time being, we do not see a need to become an SCO member,” he said.
Established in 2001, the SCO is an intergovernmental organisation aimed at encouraging effective cooperation among members in various spheres, including politics, economy, regional security and stability, science and technology, energy, and transport.
It comprises 10 members — China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, Iran, and Belarus — and represents over three billion people, or about 45 per cent of the world’s population. The SCO has two observer countries and 14 dialogue partners.
The combined gross domestic product (GDP) of the organisation in 2023 accounted for about 32 per cent of the world’s total.
