1st ECO Interior Ministers Meeting

Tehran - November 1st, 2006

 

Press Release

   

         

            The First Meeting of the ECO Ministers for Interior, titled “Security, Stability and Sustainable Development”, was held in Tehran on 1st November, 2006. It was preceded by Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) on 30-31 October, 2006. The meetings, hosted by the Islamic Republic of Iran, were chaired by Dr. Abdureza Rahmani Fazli, Deputy Interior Minister for International Affairs and Provincial Economic Coordination and H.E. Mr. Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Minister for Interior of the Islamic Republic of Iran, respectively.

      

In his inaugural speech, the Interior Minister emphasized the seriousness of the challenge posed by terrorism and transnational crimes. He said these must be addressed effectively in order that ECO could focus exclusively on achieving its cherished goals of economic prosperity and regional interaction. The Minister expressed the hope that the meeting would mark a major milestone in the struggle against crimes.

 

The ECO Secretary General, Mr. Khurshid Anwar, welcoming the participants said that terrorism and transnational crimes were our common enemies. They were beyond any single country to overcome effectively. Member states must proceed with a sense of urgency to intensify cooperation in the campaign against terrorism and organized crimes.

 

Senior Officials deliberated on the rising spread of terrorism and transnational organized crimes and their impact on the security, stability, economic growth of ECO member states.  They also discussed the causes of such crimes and how best to put an end to them.  The SOM prepared a report for the Ministerial Meeting containing proposals for a joint response to the threats commonly faced by member states.

 

          The Interior Ministers endorsed the report of the Senior Officials and adopted a 15-point Tehran Declaration. In the Declaration, the member states acknowledged that terrorism and transnational organized crimes posed them a common threat and they must fight it jointly. They agreed to set up a High Level Experts Group to prepare a comprehensive cooperation plan to launch a coordinated and organized campaign against crimes.

              

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