First ECO Ministerial Meeting on Industry
was held on 25-28 January 2004 in Tehran
28 January 2004 - Tehran
Press Release
The First ECO Ministerial Meeting on Industry was held in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran on 27 January 2004. The Meeting of the Senior Officials’ of the ECO member states on Industry on 25-26 January 2004 was preceded the Ministerial Meeting.
The Ministerial Meeting was attended by the Ministers/delegations from all the ECO member countries: Islamic State of Afghanistan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Republic of Tajikistan, Republic of Turkey, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan, ECO Secretariat and international organizations i.e. FAO and UNIDO. The Meeting was inaugurated by H.E. Seyyed Mohammad Khatami, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and was chaired by H.E. Mr. E. Jahangiri, Minister of Industry and Mines of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
In his inaugural statement, H.E. President Khatami underlined that the Economic Cooperation Organization can undertake its heavy responsibilities by putting into use of extensive capacities, including its far and wide natural resources and its various other capacities. President Khatami expressed that during the recent years, ECO has taken very long strides forward in the direction of establishing the necessary frameworks for regional cooperation by taking such measures as the signing of numerous agreements in various fields. The President Khatami expressed his hope that with a review of the general orientation of its work, ECO will be able to play a much greater role in the process of the development of the Member States in the future.
H.E. Mr. Jahanghiri, the Minister of Industry and Mines of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in his statement, emphasized that in order to have a very efficient role in global economy, ECO member states should adopt common policies in various areas such as liberalization, privatization, foreign investment and in establishment of required monetary and financial agencies. The first step in this regard is the formulation of a regional industrial strategy planning which can look into the capacities, shortcomings, opportunities.
During the inaugural session, H.E. Mr. Askhat Orazbay, Secretary General of ECO, in his statement, expressed his thanks and gratitude to the Islamic Republic of Iran for hosting the Meeting. He said that ECO’s goal should be to establish a investment friendly environment to enhance the competitive power of the member states for having a greater share in global trade. He also expressed his belief that the a common strategy would pave the way for more coordinated, prioritized and intensified industrial cooperation in the ECO region.
During the Meeting, Ministers of Industry and heads of delegation of member states exchanged views on industrial development strategies and enhancement of cooperation in the field and adopted the “Plan of Action on Cooperation among the ECO Member States in Industry Sector” and “Tehran Declaration for Industrial Cooperation among ECO Member States”. These important documents prioritize and streamline ECO cooperation in the field of Industry. The Plan of Action foresees cooperation in areas such as: improving investment climate, privatization and private sector development, facilitation of flow of industrial goods and services, exchange of information and experiences, development of small and medium sized enterprises, technology transfer and management and protection of intellectual property rights. The member states also agreed to cooperate in different sub-sectors i.e. auto industries, agricultural industries, chemical and petrochemical industries, pharmaceutical industries, mining industries, textile, energy industries and food processing industries.
The Meeting welcomed the offer of the Republic of Turkey to host the Second ECO Ministerial Meeting on Industry in 2005 as well as the First Expert Group Meeting for the preparation of the ECO Regional Strategy on Industry in September 2004. The Meeting also welcomed the offer of Islamic Republic of Pakistan to host both the Third Ministerial Meeting of Industry in Pakistan and the Second Expert Group Meeting.
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