He made the remark prior to his departure for Astana, Kazakhstan, to attend regular session of Prime Ministers Council of Shanghai Cooperation Organization to be held on 29-30 October.

Iran attaches special importance to its relations with the SCO member states, Davoudi told reporters gathered at Mehrabad International Airport, the report said.

He added that Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan are the SCO member countries and Iran, India, Mongolia and Pakistan are the observer states.

Iran share common interests with the SCO member states, he said, adding that the two sides cooperate in the areas of expansion of exports markets, transit of goods, and transportation, the Iranian agency noted.

The two sides also cooperate in the areas of security, campaign against extremism and anti-drug combat in the region, the VP added.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an intergovernmental mutual-security organization which was founded in 2001 by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Except for Uzbekistan, the other countries had been members of Shanghai Five, founded in 1996, after the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed the Organization.