TEHRAN, September 12. /TASS/. Iran will sign an agreement to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization at its upcoming summit, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Monday.

"The process of Iran's admission [to the organization] is coming to an end. At the upcoming meeting of the SCO, an agreement will be officially signed on Iran's obligations to obtain the status of a member of the organization," he was quoted as saying by the ministry’s press service.

According to the diplomat, "Iran's membership in the organization is expedient and mutually beneficial."

"Iran, as an important country in the region, thanks to its energy resources, great economic potential and location along the route of the North-South transport corridor, has the potential to benefit the SCO," he said.

The SCO is an international organization that was founded in 2001, whose members are India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia hold the status of observers, while Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey are partner countries. The next SCO summit will be held in Uzbekistan on September 15-16.