ECO-ASEAN Ministers Meeting on the sidelines of 59th session of UN General Assembly

Press Release

H.E. Mr. Askhat Orazbay, Secretary General of ECO has visited the United States of America on September 26 – October 4, 2004 for participating in the 59^th UNGA, Bilateral Meetings on the sidelines of the 59^th UNGA, 9^th ECO-ASEAN Joint Ministerial Meeting, and Informal Council of Ministers of the ECO Member States in New York, and Informal Meeting of the Ministers of Finance/Economy of the ECO Member States in Washington, D.C. on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors.

New York

The ECO Secretary General attended as an observer the 59^th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 27-30, 2004 in New York.  Additionally, on the sidelines of the 59^th UNGA, Bilateral Meetings, 9^th ECO-ASEAN Joint Ministerial Meeting and Informal Council of Ministers of the ECO Member States have been held.

On the invitation of the UN Secretariat the ECO Secretary General also participated as an observer in the 5^th Annual Ministerial Meeting of Landlocked Developing Countries.  The Meeting stressed its main attention on the current implementation of Almaty Program of Action for Landlocked Countries and afterwards adopted its Draft Ministerial Communiqué.

The ECO Secretary General attended the OIC Ministerial Meeting held on September 28, 2004 in the UN Secretariat.

The Informal Council of Ministers of the ECO Member States meeting held on September 28, 2004 in the UN Headquarters and was attended by Ministers and delegations from all ten member countries.  The delegates expressed their interest in continuation of this tradition in future, supported the majority of proposals made and declared for further activation of efforts on improvement of ECO activities.

9^th ECO-ASEAN Joint Ministerial Meeting held on September 27, 2004 in the UN Headquarters.  The meeting was co-chaired by H.E. Mr. Talbak Nazarov, the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan from the ECO side and H.E. Mr. Syed Hamid Albar, the Foreign Minister of Malaysia, from the ASEAN side. The participants from ECO and ASEAN reviewed the status of the ECO-ASEAN Cooperation since the 8^th ECO-ASEAN Joint Ministerial Meeting held in 2003.  They reaffirmed their common commitment to develop closer relations aiming to deepen their mutually beneficial cooperation in future.

Additionally, the Bilateral Meetings held on the sidelines of 59^th UNGA.  The ECO Secretary General met with H.E. Mr. Anwarul K. Chowdhury, the UN Under-Secretary-General, High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.  H.E. Mr. Orazbay met with H.E. Mrs. Louse Frechette, the UN Deputy Secretary General at her Office.  He also met with H.E. Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General.  H.E. Mr. Ong Keng Yong, the ASEAN Secretary General and the ECO Secretary General met in the UN Headquarters. 

Washington, D.C.

The Informal Meeting of the Ministers of Finance of ECO Member States held in Washington, D.C. on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors.  During the meeting the Ministers reviewed the implementation of the decisions of the 1^st ECO Ministerial meeting on Finance/Economy held in Islamabad on January 2004.  They pointed out the importance and advisability of conducting such meetings and consultations among the Ministers of ECO Member States on the sidelines of IMF/World Bank Meetings in future.

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