The First ECO Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture 

Due in Islamabad

Press Release

            Based on the decision set forward by the Council of Ministers (COM), the main decision making body of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), to hold meetings at ministerial level on the main priority sectors of the organization, the First ECO Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture is going to be held in Islamabad, Pakistan, on 23-25 July 2002. It is worth mentioning that representatives from international organizations such as FAO, ICARDA and UNESCAP will also attend the meeting. H.E. General Pervez Musharraf, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, will inaugurate the conference.

            H. E. Mr. Mojtaba Arastou, ECO Secretary General, who is going to attend the meeting, while attaching a great importance to the goals and aims of the meeting, stated that the Conference will review agricultural policies, prospects for the Member States and their problems and areas of common interest at a regional level with particular emphasis on food insecurity, which is prevalent in the rural areas of ECO region. He also added that the issue of rehabilitation of agriculture sector in Afghanistan and involvement of ECO countries in this process is expected to be extensively discussed in the meeting.

            The Ministerial Meeting, while providing political commitment on the future agricultural cooperation in the framework of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) will also outline possible priority areas of cooperation among Member States in this field.

            Present situation of intra-regional trade in agricultural products, bilateral and multilateral trading opportunities, implications of WTO regime on the Member Countries and ECO region as a whole, progressive control mechanism through regional coordination and harmonization of regulations/standards are the main topics for discussion during the Meeting.

            The Meeting will also consider the Plan of Action for Agricultural Cooperation in the ECO Region for the years 2002-2007. The Plan of Action will provide a broad framework for agricultural cooperation among the Member States, as well as prioritizing ECO activities in agriculture sector and elaborate ways and means of mobilization of ECO region’s agricultural potentials in order to provide a prosperous future for its people.

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