TEHRAN, July 24 (RIA Novosti) - Iran's president will take part in the August 16 summit of a security cooperation grouping dominated by China and Russia, to be held in Kyrgyzstan, a senior Iranian diplomat said Tuesday.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Russia and China - was set up to collaborate on security-related issues, but increasingly focuses on economics and transportation. The SCO runs a joint anti-terrorism center in Shanghai and has India, Pakistan, and Iran as observers.

Deputy Iranian Foreign Minister Mahdi Safari said: "According to our information, the heads of SCO member states, the Mongolian president, and the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan will participate in the session in [Kyrgyz capital] Bishkek."

"As Iran was represented by our president [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] at the last summit in Shanghai, we will try to participate in the Bishkek session to as great an extent as possible," Safari said.

Safari said he had submitted in April an application to the president of Kyrgyzstan, which currently chairs the SCO, for full-fledged participation in the organization.

"We are waiting for a decision from the SCO member countries with whose representatives we have already held serious consultations," he said.