DUSHANBE, September 2. /TASS/. Rashid Alimov, a former secretary general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, on Monday said the significance of the organization is ascending as new international relations are shaping up.

Alimov, now a professor at the Tajikistan presidential State Service Academy, made the comments in an interview with TASS ahead of a SCO summit that will take place in the Uzbek city of Samarkand from September 15-16.

"The importance of the SCO as an independent factor in the global political landscape in the context of the formation of new international relations and a multipolar world will only increase. The summit in Samarkand will confirm the existing prominent international authority of the organization," he said.

"The SCO summit is expected not only to make a decision on accepting Iran, but is also likely to consider starting the process for admitting the next candidate," the organization’s former head stated.

Alimov said the SCO had about 10 applications from other countries to join. As the world is changing rapidly, he explained, the allure of the SCO, which counts China and Russia and Central Asian nations as its founding members, is sure to increase.

Alimov said "the SCO is attractive thanks to its ideals and principles," and isn’t a military-political or economic alliance. He said the group’s strong side is that its members have an equal sway and enjoy a unity of views, regardless of their size and economic potential. They also seek to address challenges jointly, he said.

"In the conditions when the system of international relations that has developed over decades and the usual international order are receding into history, the SCO can act as a prototype of future international relations. In this regard, the SCO summit in Samarkand will be extremely important for the cause of world peace, for international security, and ultimately, for the future of all human civilization," Alimov emphasized.