The Turkmen side prepares for participation in the 14th high level session of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) which will be held by Turkey which nowadays has been presiding over this institution since April, 2019. The forum will be held on March 4 in a videoconference mode.
In 2020 Turkmenistan will assume chairmanship of ECO, the draft of the Concept of this mission on what at the governmental session on Friday Deputy Chairman, Minister for Foreign Affairs Rashid Meredov reported to President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov is already developed.
As was informed, the Concept is aimed at activization of investment activity in ECO member countries, creation of free trade and economic zones, escalating of trading, transport-logistics interrelations, including through maintenance of stable international cargo transportation at emergency situations, development of partnership in the field of sustainable energy, including renewed energy sources.
One of the key aspects of the Concept is support of social and economic development of Afghanistan.
The country considers as an important direction of multilateral dialogue expansion of practical interaction in agriculture, maintenance of food security.
Turkmenistan also intends to give a new stimulus to cultural-humanitarian cooperation of ECO member countries in the field of a science, education and sports. In this context scientific researches in struggle against the coronavirus pandemic are considered topical.
According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, for March a visit to Turkmenistan ECO secretary general Hadi Soleimanpour is planned. The following 15th high level meeting of ECO is planned to hold in Ashkhabad on November 28, 2021, on ECO Day.
The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is the intergovernmental regional organisation created in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey with a view of assistance to economic, technical and cultural cooperation between member states.
In 1992 the Organization was expanded and included seven new members, namely: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The date of expansion of the Organization to its present structure, on November 28, is marked as ECO Day.
The cooperation agreement between ECO and the United Nations was concluded at the 50th UN General Assembly in 1995, and ECO was given the status of an observer in the United Nations Organization.