Saudi Arabia joins Shanghai Co-operation Organisation – The National

Saudi Arabia joins Shanghai Co-operation Organisation – The National

Saudi Arabia has approved a decision to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a political and security union of countries spanning much of Eurasia, including China, India and Russia.

The decision by the cabinet follows years of close energy co-operation between the two countries, with China far overtaking the US as the main importer of Saudi Arabian oil, buying about 1.75 million barrels of oil per day last year.

Only Russia exports more oil to China, after heavily discounting its oil in the wake of the Ukraine conflict.