Wed, August 27, 2008
TEHRAN, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will attend the upcoming summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Dushanbe, capital city of Tajikistan on Aug. 27-28, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Ahmadinejad will take part in the summit on the invitation of his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon, IRNA said.
Iran is an observer member of the SCO. Earlier this year, it applied to become a formal member while Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhan Zarifi said his country is interested in seeing it join the organization.
"Iran plays a crucial role in the region," he said, adding that the Islamic Republic's bonds with the SCO would empower the organization.
According to Iran's English-language Press TV satellite, Ahmadinejad is set to meet with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev during the summit.
The two sides will discuss further expansion of bilateral ties and regional and international issues.
Presidents from Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan are scheduled to attend the meeting as permanent members of the SCO, while representatives from Iran, Pakistan, India and Mongolia will be in Dushanbe as observer members.
SCO is an inter-governmental organization which was founded in 2001 by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
