Turkey applied for the Dialogue Partnership Status to the Organization concerned, through a letter, dated 23 March 2011, by H.E. Mr. Davutoğlu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, addressed to the Secretary-General of SCO. As stated in the press release dated June 7, 2012, our application was approved unanimously at the SCO Heads of State Summit held in Beijing, on 6-7 June 2012. Further, the Summit Declaration welcomed Turkey’s inclusion to the collaboration with SCO as Dialogue Partner.

Therefore, our country’s status in the presence of the organization in question has been clearly established and entered in the registry. The decision regarding this issue was adopted at the level of Heads of State, the level of highest authority.

On the other hand, Turkey's relation with SCO is not an alternative to its relations with the EU or NATO and likewise, our existing relationships with these organizations are not an obstacle to cooperation with SCO. Indeed, the EU has decided to develop relations with SCO in 2012, and this decision was emphasized in the mandate of the Special Representative for Central Asia. In his response to a question in this context, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Secretary General of NATO stated that there are no contradictions in this regard at all.