The Council of Ministers (CoM) of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) held its 17th Informal Meeting on 27th September, 2010 in New York on the sidelines of the 65th United Nations General Assembly Session. The meeting was held over a working lunch hosted by H.E. Mr. Manouchehr Mottaki, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in his capacity as the current Chairman of the ECO CoM. The Foreign Ministers/Representatives of the ECO Member States and the ECO Secretary General participated.
The Ministers reviewed ECO’s progress in such areas of its activities as Trade, Transport, Energy, Agriculture, Drugs and Organized Crime etc. The ECO Secretary General, H.E. Mr. M. Yahya Maroofi, in his statement, gave an overview of the ECO’s current programmes and projects and highlighted the major developments in key sectors. He briefed about the efforts to promote long-lasting and mutually beneficial cooperation with UN, its specialized Agencies and other regional and international Organizations. The Secretary General also informed the meeting about the preparations for the upcoming 11th Summit and the 19th CoM to be held in Istanbul from 20-23 Dec, 2010.
The meeting took note of the key developments and expressed its satisfaction at the progress made by the Organization in different sectors in particular at the launch of regular container-train service on Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul route in August 2010. The Ministers underscored the need to accelerate full implementation of all the ECO agreements in particular ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA) and Transit Transport Framework Agreement (TTFA). They also emphasised the need of active participation by all the member states in ECO’s initiatives and programmes.
The Ministers approved the draft revised Terms of Reference to activate Contact Groups of ECO Ambassadors at important International/Regional Organizations. The draft Resolution on ECO-UN cooperation to be tabled at the current General Assembly session was also endorsed by the meeting.
The meeting exchanged views on situation in Pakistan following the deadliest floods in the country. The Ministers appreciated the assistance provided by ECO member states to Pakistan in the aftermath of the floods and called upon the International Community to mobilize maximum resources to help the country in its relief and rehabilitation efforts.
The Ministers appreciated the offer of Turkey to host the 11th ECO Summit preceded by 19th CoM meeting in Istanbul and assured active participation of their respective countries in the two events.
New York
27 September, 2010.
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The ECO Council of Ministers (COM) meets annually on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly Session to review the progress made by the Organization. The ECO is an inter-governmental regional organization comprising ten member states namely: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Its Headquarters is located in Tehran, Iran.
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