The country’s autocratic leader, Alexander Lukashenko, has pursued membership in the SCO for over a decade, with Belarus becoming a dialogue partner in 2010 before being elevated to observer status in 2015.

The regional club, spearheaded by Beijing and Moscow, aims to counter Western influence in Eurasia.

“Belarus has completed all the necessary procedures on the way to SCO membership in a short period of time,” Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said during the second day of a SCO summit in Astana, the Kazakh capital.

Speaking on Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on members to resist external meddling in the region.

“In the face of the real risks of small yards with high fences, we must safeguard the right to development,” Xi was quoted by Chinese state television CCTV as saying at the summit.

Xi added that the bloc should respond to “internal differences” by seeking common ground, peace, and resolving cooperative challenges.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would discuss creating a new set of Eurasian collective security treaties with the group.

Putin said last month that a new regional security system was necessary and that it should be open to all countries on the continent, including NATO members, but its aim should be to gradually remove all external military presence from Eurasia, a clear reference to the United States.

Founded in 2001 with six original members—Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan—SCO expanded in 2017 with the induction of Pakistan and India and later welcomed Iran as a member in 2023.

The bloc has two other observer states, Afghanistan and Mongolia, and 14 dialogue partners, including Turkey.