Economic Cooperation Organization
(ECO) was established in 1985 by Iran, Turkey and Pakistan, It succeeded
Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD), which was founded in 1964 to
promote cooperation among the three Member States.
2. In 1992, the Organization
welcomed in its fold, seven new Members, which in addition to Afghanistan
included Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and
Kazakhstan. The Treaty of Izmir, signed in 1977 and subsequently amended in
1996, is the legal foundation of the Organization.
3. ECO aims at promoting
sustainable economic development of Member States through trade and economic
cooperation as well as mutual assistance in social, cultural, technical and
scientific fields. Three long-term sectoral priorities of the Organization are:
i) Development of transport and communication infrastructure, ii) Facilitation
of trade and investment, iii) Effective use of the region's vast energy
resources.
4. The Headquarters of ECO are
located in Tehran. H.E. Ambassador Halil Ibrahim Akca (Turkish National) is the
current Secretary General of Economic Cooperation Organization.
Institutional Framework
5. ECO consists of four principal
organs, the Council of Ministers (COM), the Regional Planning Council (RPC),
the Council of Permanent Representatives (CPR) and the Secretariat.
ECO Summit
6. Held biennially, ECO Summit of
Heads of States/Governments of member States provides the Organization an
overarching strategic guideline as well as political support. 12th ECO Summit
was held in Baku, Azerbaijan on 16th October 2012.
7. Pakistan is hosting the 13th
ECO summit in Islamabad on 1st March 2017, preceded by 22nd Council of
Ministers Meeting (COMM) on 28th February 2017. The Council of Ministers
meeting will be preceded by Senior Official Meeting (SOM) on 26 February 2017
Council of Ministers (COM)
8. The Council of Ministers (COM)
is the highest policy and decision-making body of ECO and is composed of the
Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member States. It meets once a year by rotation,
in the territories of the Member States.
Council of Permanent
Representative (CPR)
9. The CPR is composed of Tehran
based Ambassadors of Member States accredited to ECO. It meets once a month and
oversees the working of the Secretariat and takes day to day decisions relating
to the Organization on behalf of the COM.
Regional Planning Council
10. The Regional Planning Council
(RPC) is composed of the Heads of Planning Organizations of Member States and
meets at least once a year prior to the annual meeting of the Council of
Ministers. It evolves basic strategies/policies and plans in accordance with
the objectives and principles of regional cooperation laid down in the Treaty
of Izmir, as well as policy guidelines of the Council of Ministers.
ECO Secretariat
11. The Secretariat is the
implementing arm of the Organization. Under the supervision of the Secretary
General, it carries out the policies and programmes finalized by the governing
bodies, and reports back to them on its activities. Presently, there are 67
officials working in the Secretariat and out of them 14 belongs to Pakistan.
ECO Vision 2025
12. The ECO Vision 2025 envisages
"ECO will pave the way to a territory of integrated and sustainable
economies as well as free trade area achieved by highly educated societies and
improved governance through enhanced cooperation". The new Vision focuses
on sectoral priorities of the ECO including Trade, energy, transit and social
welfare and environment. The Vision also incorporates an implementation framework.
ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA)
13. ECOTA is a major step towards
realization of the Organization's goal of removal of trade barriers and
establishment of a Free Trade Area in the ECO region. The Agreement was signed
in Islamabad in July 2003 during the 2nd ECO Ministerial Meeting on Commerce
and Foreign Trade and entered into force on 24th April, 2008. The member states
are currently negotiating to operationalize this agreement.
Transit Transport Framework Agreement (TTFA)
14. TTFA is ECO's the basic
document in the transport sector, providing background for a historical
movement toward reduction of cost and acceleration of the transport services
through harmonization and modernization of transit transport in the region.
15. TTFA is in force since 2006
with the ratification of the Parliaments of eight Member States: Afghanistan,
Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and
Turkey.
On13th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Summit at Islamabad, the Commemorative Postage Stamps of Rs.8/- each denomination are being issued by Pakistan Post on March 01, 2017
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