TEHRAN, June 23. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov emphasized on Thursday Iran’s role for the activity of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) after it joins the organization.

"We are convinced that Tehran will make a significant contribution to strengthening the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as one of the key centers of the emerging multipolar world order," Lavrov told a news conference following talks with Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Thursday.

Russia welcomes the official process of Iran's accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a full member, launched last year, Lavrov stressed. "A memorandum will be signed in Samarkand at the next SCO summit in September of this year, which will clearly outline the legal and time frames of this process, it should not take too much time," the top diplomat said.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is comprised of China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. On September 17, 2021, the participants in a SCO summit in Dushanbe signed a document on cooperation envisaging the start of the process towards Iran’s full membership.