Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar was on Friday elected Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO-COM), according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FO).
The OCE was founded as the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) in 1964 by Pakistan, Iran and Turkiye, before changing its name in 1985. The organization’s website states that its purpose is to “create favorable and conducive conditions for the continued promotion of sustainable economic development in the region.”
The 10 member states include Pakistan, Iran, Turkiye, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
According to a statement from FO, today’s COM meeting was held virtually and Dar underlined the body’s important role in promoting prosperity, economic integration and connectivity in the region.
“He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the ECO Vision 2025 and expressed Pakistan’s intention, as the incoming Chairman of the ECO COM, to work closely with member states to finalize the ECO Vision 2026-2035,” the FO said.
“The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister highlighted Pakistan’s priority of strengthening multi-modal transport corridors, harmonizing customs frameworks and aligning transport systems for smooth regional integration,” he added.
According to the FO, Dar reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to key regional connectivity projects, including the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul rail corridor, the Eurasian multimodal corridor and the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan railway.
The Foreign Minister recalled the Regional Transport Ministers’ Conference held in Islamabad last month and noted that Pakistan is “actively shaping regional transport cooperation in road, rail, maritime and digital connectivity”.
“He (Dar) also highlighted Pakistan’s liberalized visa policy, which allows easier access to businessmen and tourists from 126 countries,” the statement read.
Dar highlighted the need for ECO members to strengthen cooperation in various sectors and spheres, including sustainable transportation, transit trade, customs harmonization, climate-resilient infrastructure and counter-terrorism.
Addressing the meeting, he said Pakistan views the ECO as a useful platform to strengthen ties among members through multilateral engagements.
“Pakistan remains steadfast in its efforts to promote regional connectivity objectives through integrated and efficient transport corridors,” he said, adding that establishing transport corridors in the region was a key objective of Islamabad.
“Despite previous efforts, we must all recognize that there is significant untapped potential to improve the sustainability of transport and transit trade between countries in the OEC region,” he said, outlining four key areas of focus:
- Full implementation of the Transit Transport Framework Agreement (TTFA);
- Development of a coordinated multimodal transport network;
- Simplification and harmonization of customs and border procedures through capacity development and technology transfer; and
- Promotion of sustainable and climate resilient transport systems aligned with our international environmental commitments.
