2nd Meeting of the Heads of Reference Marine Organizations of the ECO Member States

ECO Secretariat, Tehran, November 20, 2005

 

Press Release

   

 

The 2nd Meeting of the Heads of Reference Marine Organizations of ECO Member States was held in Istanbul (Turkey) on November 17-18, 2005. The Meeting was attended by the delegations of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Kazakhstan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Republic of Turkey. The ECO Secretariat delegation was headed by Mr. Masroor A.Junejo, Deputy Secretary General (Transport & Communications).

 

2.         The meeting was preceded by High Level Experts’ Group Meeting on November 16, 2005 chaired by Mr. Hasan Naiboglu, Deputy Undersecretary for Maritime Affairs of Turkey. The Experts’ Group thoroughly discussed the agenda for the Heads of Reference Marine Organizations and prepared a draft report for their consideration.

 

3.         The meeting was inaugurated by Mr. Ismet Yilmaz, Undersecretary for Maritime Affairs of Turkey. In his opening statement, Mr. Yilmaz gave the background of ECO. He described the sea as a common heritage of mankind which needed to be free from pollution. He stressed for effective transportation linkages within the region and called for a need to set up a data base on maritime affairs for use by ECO Member States. The opening session was also addressed by Mr. Masroor A.Junejo, Deputy Secretary General, who briefed the participants on various ECO initiatives aimed at cooperation in the field of marine transport. 

 

4.         The participating Member States reaffirmed their desire to promote cooperation in maritime affairs in the ECO region. They also reiterated their resolve to assist the land-locked ECO Member States in terms of UN Almaty Plan of Action. The meeting concluded with a set of recommendations, which inter alia included establishment of a committee to study tariff structure within the region, development of a data base, proposal to sign an MOU on Safety and Security Measures, exchange of training facilities, etc.

 

5.         The delegation of Pakistan offered to host the next meeting of the Heads of Reference Marine Organizations of ECO Member States in Pakistan. It may be recalled that the First Meeting of the Heads of Reference Marine Organizations was held in Tehran in October 2003.

  

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