On 19 May 2023, the SCO Secretariat hosted a meeting between SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the People’s Republic of China Mohammad Keshavarz-Zadeh.

The Ambassador told Zhang Ming about the coming end of his ambassadorship in China and thanked the Secretary-General for the productive cooperation and assistance provided by the SCO Secretariat.

The parties discussed current issues related to Iran receiving the status of a SCO member state.

A Memorandum on Iran's commitments with regard to obtaining the status of an SCO member state was signed by SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming and Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Samarkand on 15 September 2022.