President Ahmadinejad will take part in the summit at the invitation of his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon.



Ahmadinejad was seen off at the Tehran airport by First Vice- President Parviz Davoudi and the Supreme Leader's advisor for international affairs, Ali-Akbar Velayati.



Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Energy Minister Parviz Fattah, and senior presidential advisor, Mojtaba Samareh-Hashemi are accompanying the Iranian president to Dushanbe.



China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are the SCO permanent members, while Iran, India, Mongolia, and Pakistan have observer status.



President Ahmadinejad is to address the summit. He will also review the latest regional and international developments with his counterparts participating in the summit.



Earlier, Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhan Zarifi said his country is interested in seeing the Islamic Republic join SCO.



"Iran plays a crucial role in the region," he said, adding that the Islamic Republic's bonds with the SCO would empower the organization," he said.



"Iran currently has an observer status in the organization, as do Afghanistan, India, Mongolia and Pakistan," he said.



SCO is an intergovernmental economic organization which was founded in 2001 by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Tehran, Aug 27, IRNA