SCO officially welcomes Iran aboard: Iran has officially joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as a full member, in a move that strengthens its ties with China and Russia, Al Arabiya reports. Iran’s participation was announced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the SCO virtual summit held yesterday.

The move drives Iran’s inclusion: The country officially joining the SCO — a security and trade cooperation organization for Eurasian states, founded by Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan — will help pave the way for stronger cooperation with Russia and China amidthe isolation faced by Iran as a result of US sanctions. The move follows previous talks which anticipated Iran’s admission.

Iran + Russia looking to enhance transport ties: Iranian Vice President Mohammad Mokhber discussed deepening cooperation in transportation with Russia’s Aide to the President Igor Levitin in a meeting in Tehran on Monday, Iranian semi-official news agency Mehrreports. “In order to use all the transportation and transit potentials, we should try to develop our ports and put combined and multifaceted transportation on our agenda,” Mokhber said. He also stressed the importance of forming a joint shipping company and promoting cooperation in aviation, and called on Russian companies to invest in the development of the North-South Corridor.

Egypt, Turkey reappoint ambassadors: Egypt and Turkey yesterday restored diplomatic ties and announced the appointment of ambassadors for the first time in 10 years, marking a significant thawing of tensions triggered by the overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. “This step aims to establish normal relations between the two countries once again and demonstrates their mutual determination to work towards enhancing their bilateral relations for the best interest of both the Turkish and Egyptian peoples,” the statement said.

This had been in the cards for a few weeks: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to fully normalize ties immediately following Erdogan’s reelection in May. The chief diplomats of both countries in March pledged to put aside their differences and normalize relations in a meeting in Cairo only three weeks after Shoukry traveled to Turkey to show support following the earthquakes that hit the south of the country and Syria.

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