ECO Secretary General leaves Tehran to attend ESCAP Meeting in Bali

Press Release

          The ECO Secretary General, H.E. Ambassador Seyed Mojtaba Arastou left Tehran to attend the 7^th Consultative Meeting between Executive Heads of Sub-Regional Organizations in Asia and ESCAP in Bali, Indonesia, which is scheduled to start on September 5, 2002.

          The meeting is organized by ESCAP on yearly basis and is attended by Executive Heads from Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN), South Asia Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Pacific Island Forum, Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and Economic & Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). ESCAP which is an important UN arm for helping development efforts in Asia and Pacific Region is an important member of this consultative process. The meeting provides it with an opportunity to learn about different problems or issues facing above five regions. So far six meeting of the same nature has been held, each having its own special agenda. The 7^th meeting this year would consider new important issues on exchange of views among the executive heads of the regional organizations. They will also consider the main working plan of ECO and will decide about the time and venue of the next meeting.

          This year's agenda includes discussions on peace building efforts of sub-regional organizations, role of information technology on rural poverty alleviation, Ecological tourism, HIV/AIDS, poverty profile of different regions and need for public participation in regional cooperation efforts. Secretary General of ECO will lead the discussion on ' need for public participation in regional cooperation efforts" based on ECO's experiences. The issue is of great relevance to the region and therefore a Business Forum has also been organized on the sidelines of the 7^th ECO Summit in Istanbul in October 2002. ECO Secretariat hopes that discussion would lead to a greater interest in the problems and opportunities present in the ECO region internationally.

          ECO Secretary General will also hold meetings with the other participating Heads of Regional Organizations to expand and promote the present level of cooperation, among them would be the meeting with Executive Secretary of ESCAP to explore ways and means of closer cooperation. Ambassador Arastou would as well meet with ASEAN Secretary General to discuss the issues pertaining to the Joint Ministerial Meeting of ECO and ASEAN, due to be held in the sideline of the UN General Assembly in New York.        

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