Iran proposes common SCO currency

Iran has proposed a regional currency for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states in a bid to boost their economic trade.

“Considering the high volume of production, consumption and trade of the SCO member states, it is proposed that they create and use a national and regional currency,” said Iran's First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi at a meeting of the SCO member states in Beijing Wednesday.

He called for s reform 'bilateral and multilateral monetary institutions' to bolster cooperation among SCO members.

“The SCO member states should also adopt measures to attract foreign investments,” said Rahimi further explained.

Rahimi also pointed out that active participation in the SCO activities was one of Iran's foreign policy' priorities.

Greater economic and cultural cooperation is the main issue on the agenda of the SCO meeting.

The meeting, held in the Great Hall of the People, is being chaired by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and attended by his counterparts from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as well as representatives from the SCO four observer nations (Mongolia, India, Iran and Pakistan) and Afghanistan.

The SCO is an intergovernmental international organization founded in Shanghai in 2001 Iran was granted observer status in the organization in 2005.