SAEDNEWS: Mohammad Reza Aref, the First Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, has arrived in Moscow to attend and speak at the 24th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Prime Ministers. During the event, he will also hold bilateral consultations on the sidelines of the summit.
According to the political news service of Saed News, the plane carrying Iran’s First Vice President and his accompanying delegation landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport on Tuesday afternoon.
Several Russian officials and Kazem Jalali, Iran’s ambassador to Russia, welcomed the First Vice President upon his arrival.
As part of his first official engagement in Moscow, at the invitation of the Russian Prime Minister, the Vice President is scheduled to meet and hold talks with Mikhail Mishustin.
A political and economic delegation, including Mohammad Atabak, Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade, is accompanying the Vice President on this visit.
The 24th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Prime Ministers is set to begin on Tuesday in Moscow.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, before departing for Russia, the First Vice President spoke to reporters at Mehrabad Airport about the goals of the trip. He stated that ten draft documents have been prepared for this summit. If these documents are approved, they will pave the way for regional and multilateral cooperation, as well as collaboration with other organizations, including the Eurasian Economic Union, ECO, and UNESCO.
He added, “On the sidelines of this summit, I will meet with the prime ministers of participating countries to discuss bilateral issues and cooperation. During the two sessions of the SCO Prime Ministers’ meeting, I will present our country’s positions regarding the development of cooperation and regional and international issues.”
Prior to this, the SCO National Coordinators’ meeting, with the participation of Iran’s representative, was held from Friday to Sunday to discuss the organization’s documents and proposals.
At that meeting, proposals regarding the agenda of the SCO Prime Ministers’ meeting, implementation of multilateral trade and economic cooperation programs for 2026–2030, and a roadmap for social development and social support among member states for 2026–2028 were reviewed. Other topics included cooperation among member states’ railway organizations, coordinating measures to improve financial infrastructure, developing e-commerce, and encouraging mutual investment.
Full members of the SCO include Iran, Russia, Belarus, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
The 25th SCO Heads of State Summit was held on August 31, 2025, in Tianjin, China. Leaders from over 20 countries, including Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, China’s President Xi Jinping (host), and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, as well as representatives from ten international organizations, participated.
According to Kazem Jalali, Iran’s ambassador to Russia, while SCO Heads of State meetings mainly focus on political issues, the Prime Ministers’ meetings emphasize economic cooperation and related matters.
