The spokesperson of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Ani Badalyan, has stated that Armenia has expressed desire to become a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The announcement comes a week after Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan made his first official visit to China, where he met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
In a post on Facebook on Thursday, Badalyan stated that Armenia shares the ‘founding principles of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, namely territorial integrity, non-use of force, and inviolability of borders’, which is why Armenia wished to join.
Attached to the post was a photo of Mirzoyan and Wang reviewing some documentation.
The SCO is a political, economic, and security organisation made up of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, Iran, and Belarus. Several other countries are engaged as observers or dialogue partners.
Also on Thursday, Armenia’s Foreign Ministry published excerpts from an interview Mirzoyan gave to the South China Morning Post within the framework of his official visit to Beijing.
Responding to a question about the prospects for the development of a strategic partnership between Armenia and China, Mirzoyan stated: ‘Not only is there no impediment and any obstacle on the way of deepening our relations, but also there is openness and readiness to deepen these relations without any limitations’.
Armenia is the only South Caucasus country yet to establish such a partnership with China — Georgia signed a strategic partnership agreement with China in 2023, while Azerbaijan signed a similar document in 2024.
During the interview, Mirzoyan also noted that the political dialogue between Yerevan and Beijing was ‘intense and active’, while adding that Armenia sought to push for stronger bonds with China in culture and people-to-people exchange, in addition to trade and infrastructure.
Mirzoyan also touched upon the Armenia–Azerbaijan and Armenia–Turkey normalisation processes, noting that this could create a path towards connecting Armenia’s Crossroads of Peace initiative with China’s One Belt, One Road.
‘Imagine, Armenian “Crossroads of Peace” wouldn’t have that huge impact without the “Belt and Road” project of China; and vice versa, probably the “Belt and Road” wouldn’t run that smoothly if bypassing Armenia’, Mirzoyan said.
Mirzoyan’s visit to China took place 24–27 June at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Xandie (Alexandra) Kuenning
