ISLAMABAD: The Council of Ministers (COM) of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) held its 23rd meeting in Dushanbe on Tuesday.
According to a Foreign Office statement, the meeting was chaired by Sartaj Aziz, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission of Pakistan, and was attended by foreign ministers and representatives of the ECO member states and observers. Sartaj Aziz handed over the chairmanship of Council of Ministers (COM) to Aslov Sirodjidin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan. SCO Secretary General Halil Ibrahim Akca represented the ECO Secretariat.
Sartaj Aziz, in his remarks, stated that Pakistan, being a founding member and SCO chairman, realized its responsibility and extended full support to the projects and initiatives of ECO.
He also noted that Pakistan hosted numerous ECO events during its chairmanship of the ECO since the 13th ECO Summit held on March 1, 2017, for the implementation of the Islamabad Declaration and the ECO vision 2025. The vision aimed at regional integration leading to free movement of goods and peoples, he added.
The meeting reviewed progress made since the 22nd COM held at Islamabad on February 28, 2017. Secretary-General Akca briefed the Council on the recent activities of the Secretariat and progress made in various fields, inter alia, trade and investment transport & communications agriculture and food security, energy and environment and international relations.
It also discussed the developments of ECO since its expansion and exchanged views on the possible reforms needed for keeping pace with the evolving requirements of regional cooperation.
Dushanbe Communiqué was adopted, which reinforced the importance of regional connectivity for regional development in order to transform ECO into a vibrant prosperous and progressive region.
The meeting participants renewed their commitment to promoting regional economic integration among the ECO member states and resolved to play an active role in the realization of the organisation’s aims and objectives.