The government has said that more countries want to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) but the absence of relevant legal preparations means this will not be discussed at the group's Shanghai summit Thursday. China's Assistant Foreign Minister Li Hui refused to give details of potential SCO applicants, the South China Morning Post reported. In addition to SCO full members China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Iran, India, Pakistan and Mongolia have observer status. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is set to take part in the summit during which leaders will discuss international issues "without excluding any possible topic."