Economic Cooperation Organization

The Economic Cooperation Organization was the successor organisation of what was the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD), founded in 1964, which ended activities in 1979. In 1985 Iran, Pakistan and Turkey joined to form the ECO. By the fall of 1992, the ECO expanded to include seven new members; Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The date of the expansion to its present strength, 28 November, is referred to as "ECO Day". The status and power of the ECO is growing. However, the organisation faces many challenges. Most importantly, the member states are lacking appropriate infrastructure and institutions which the Organization is primarily seeking to develop, to make full use of the available resources in the region and provide sustainable development for the member nations. The Economic Cooperation Organisation Trade Agreement (ECOTA) was signed on 17 July 2003 in Islamabad. ECO Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) is a new organization for trade promotion among member states located in Iran (2009). Under the agreement reached between ECO members, the common trade market should be established by 2015. ==Official names==

The official working language of the Economic Cooperation Organization is English. The official names of the organization are: • • • • • • • • • • • / == Objectives and principles ==

• Sustainable economic development of Member States; • Progressive removal of trade barriers and promotion of intraregional trade; the Greater role of ECO region in the growth of world trade; Gradual integration of the economies of the Member States with the world economy; • Development of transport & communications infrastructure linking the Member States with each other and with the outside world; • Economic liberalization and privatization; • Mobilization and utilization of ECO region's material resources; • Effective utilization of the agricultural and industrial potentials of ECO region. • Regional cooperation for drug abuse control, ecological and environmental protection and strengthening of historical and cultural ties among the peoples of the ECO region; and • Mutually beneficial cooperation with regional and international organizations. • Sovereign equality of the Member States and mutual advantage; • Linking of national economic, development plans with ECO's immediate and long-term objectives to the extent possible; • Joint efforts to gain freer access to markets outside the ECO region for the raw materials and finished products of the Member States; • Effective utilization of ECO institutions, agreements and cooperative arrangements with other regional and international organizations including multilateral financial institutions; • Common endeavors to develop a harmonized approach for participation in regional and global arrangements; • Realization of economic cooperation strategy; and Exchanges in educational, scientific, technical and cultural fields ==Membership==

Full members Observers • • Organization of Turkic States • International Energy Charter == Structure ==

Council of Ministers The Council of Ministers (COM) is the highest policy and decision-making body and is composed of the various Ministers of Foreign Affairs or such other representatives of the ministerial rank as may be designated by the respective governments. The COM meets at least once a year by rotation among the member states. Council of Permanent Representatives The Council of Permanent Representatives (CPR) consists of the Permanent Representatives/Ambassadors of the member states accredited to the Islamic Republic of Iran as well as to the ECO and the Director-General for ECO Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Regional Planning Council The Regional Planning Council (RPC) is composed of the Heads of the Planning Organizations of member states or other representatives of corresponding authorities. ECO Secretariat The ECO Secretariat consists of six directorates and six sections in the ECO Secretariat staffed by professionals working in the relevant areas of regional economic cooperation. Each directorate is headed by a director while the each section is run by head of section. There are also several programme officers and research officers working in each directorate of the Secretariat. • Directorate of Trade and Investment (TI) • Directorate of Transport and Communications (TC) • Directorate of Energy, Mineral and Environment (EME) • Directorate of Tourism • Directorate of Agriculture and Industry (AI) • Directorate of Human Resources and Sustainable Development (HRSD) == Activities ==

Activities of ECO are conducted through directorates under the supervision of Secretary-General and his Deputies which consider and evolve projects and programs of mutual benefit in the fields of: • Trade and Investment • Transport and Communications • Energy, Minerals and Environment • Agriculture and Industry • Tourism • Human Resources & Sustainable Development == Summits and general secretaries==

in Khankendi, Azerbaijan, 4 July 2025 Heads of State summits List of general secretaries == Regional Institutions & Agencies ==

ECO Chamber of Commerce and Industry ECO-CCI was established on 10 June 1993. Its objectives are to contribute to enhancing economic cooperation and relations in trade, industry, agriculture, tourism, contracting, engineering and banking sectors as well as to realize joint investments among the Member States. National Chambers of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Turkey are members of ECO-CCI. The 7th General Assembly Meeting of ECO Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECO-CCI), held on 20 April 2004 in Kabul, Afghanistan. The participating member states offered some proposals for developing new mechanism and modalities for better interaction between member chambers and to re-activate ECO-CCI. ECO Reinsurance Company In March 1995, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey agreed to establish ECO Reinsurance Company. The purpose is to supplement the existing reinsurance services in the region, promote the growth of the national underwriting and retention capacities, minimize the outflow of foreign exchange from the region and to support economic development in the region. The three-member countries decided to form a Trilateral Interim Committee to pave the way for the establishment of this important institution. The Trilateral Interim Committee in its various meetings reviewed the relevant issues such as the development of the business plan and signing of the Articles of Agreement already finalized by a group of Experts from the three founding member countries. ECO Consultancy & Engineering Company Governments of all the ECO Member States has established a central resource pool in the shape of ECO Consultancy and Engineering Company (Pvt.) Ltd., or ECO-CEC, to assist in the development projects sponsored by the ECO Member States or by its Trade and Development Bank. The founder States are the Islamic Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and Republic of Turkey which holds an equal share in ECO-CEC, Turkey being represented by two companies and Iran and Pakistan, by one each. The Iranian and Turkish Companies specialize mainly in oil and gas pipelines, refineries, petrochemical and industrial engineering, while the Pakistani partner in all other fields of development engineering, including communications, power, urban development public health, telecommunications, water resources development and agriculture. ECO-CEC provides its expertise in the entire range of consultancy operations, starting from conception, project planning and appraisal, through pre-feasibility, feasibility and financial studies, investigation and exploration, site selection to engineering design, material and equipment specifications, construction supervision, contract management, quality control and preparation of technical manuals for the operation and maintenance of the projects. ECO Trade and Development Bank The Economic Cooperation Organization Trade and Development Bank (ETDB) was established in August 2005, following the ratification of its Articles of Agreement signed in March 1995 by the three founding members of ECO, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and the Republic of Turkey. The ETDB became fully operational in November 2008, and was joined by Afghanistan in 2012, Azerbaijan in 2013, and the Kyrgyz Republic in 2015. Its headquarters are in Istanbul (Turkey), and representative offices are in Karachi (Pakistan) and Tehran (Iran). The primary objective of the Bank is to provide financial resources for projects and programmes in member countries. The Bank offers a range of medium-to-long-term products, i.e., project finance, corporate finance, trade finance, and loans to support small and medium-sized enterprises directly or through financial intermediaries to private and state-owned entities. As of 2023, the paid-in capital of the ETDB stood at SDR 326,750 thousand, while its authorised capital was of SDR 1,089,100 thousand. ECO Cultural Institute (ECI) ECO Cultural Institute (ECI) is affiliated with ECO and aims at fostering understanding and the preservation of the rich cultural heritage of its members through common projects in the field of the media, literature, art, philosophy, sport and education. Others • ECO Clean Energy Centre (CECECO) • ECO College of Insurance • ECO Educational Institute • ECO Postal Staff College • ECO Regional Center for Risk Management of Natural Disasters • ECO Regional Coordination Centre for Food Security • ECO Regional Institute for Standardization, Conformity Assessment, Accreditation and Metrology (RISCAM) • ECO Science Foundation • ECO Seed Association (ECOSA) • ECO Supreme Audit Institutions == Relationship with other organizations ==

All the ECO states are also member-states of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC), while ECO itself has observer status in the OIC since 1995. ==Leaders of ECO member states==

Leaders are either heads of state or heads of government, depending on which is constitutionally the chief executive of the nation's government. ==See also==