IRNA: Afghanistan hosts 17th meeting of ECO council of ministers

Tehran, Oct 16, IRNA
Iran-Afghanistan-ECO
The council of ministers (COM) of the economic cooperation organization (ECO), comprising foreign ministers of the ten member states, will hold its 17th annual meeting in Herat, Afghanistan on 20th October, 2007, ECO information center said in a press release on Tuesday.
Heads of ECO’s regional institutions and specialized agencies as well as representatives of international organizations will also participate in the meetings.
The COM is the highest decision-making body of ECO. It will review progress made in different sectors since the previous COM meeting held in Baku in May 2006.These would include trade and transport, energy and environment, industry and agriculture as well as counter-narcotics and trans-national crimes.
Important priorities in these fields are implementation of the Transit Transport Framework Agreement (TTFA) and the ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA), operationalization of the ECO Container and Passenger Trains on Istanbul-Almaty route and the ECO Trade and Development Bank, the inter-connection of power systems of member states as well as progress on the ECO Reinsurance Company and the ECO Science Foundation.
Five sectoral ministerial meeting of the ECO states have been held since the last COM. These were on environment, agriculture, interior, industry and finance. Reports of these meetings and the follow-up action taken would come up for discussion in Herat.
The COM would also review the performance of the council of permanent representatives (CPR) and study its reports. The CPR, comprising the ambassadors of member states, meets once every month at the ECO secretariat in Tehran. It takes decisions on important matters of urgent nature on behalf of COM.
ECO’s initiatives to establish new regional institutions would be high on the agenda of COM. These would include the ECO Regional Institute for Standardization, Conformity Assessment, Accreditation and Metrology (RISCAM), the ECO Veterinary Commission and the ECO Regional Center for Risk Management of Natural Disasters. The organization is keen to accelerate progress on the Agreement on Simplification of Visa Procedures for ECO Businessmen, and the Agreement on Promotion and Protection of Investment (APPI). The COM would consider these and related issues.
Important administrative matters, including appointments to senior positions in the Secretariat, the Secretariat’s budget and issues relating to participation in various ECO events are also on the COMls agenda.
ECO has a modest role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. A project worth dlrs 1.3 million for the rehabilitation of the Deh Mazang Park and maintenance of Kabul Zoo has been initiated in March this year. Some more, small to medium size, projects in the health, education and transport sectors are under consideration. Herat offers a welcome opportunity to enhance ECO’s role in Afghanistan’s reconstruction. Pakistan and Turkey have contributed dlrs five million each and Iran around dlrs 400,000 to ECO’s Special Fund for the reconstruction of Afghanistan. More pledges of financial support are expected in Herat.
Afghanistan is a key member of the ECO, and an important land bridge between the founding member countries and the Central Asian ECO states. It plays an active role in the ECO. In order to commemorate the 17th COM meeting being held in Herat, the Afghan government will name a central park in Herat as the ECO park. It also proposes to shift the secretariat of the ECO chamber of commerce and industry for Kabul to Herat.
The 17th COM takes place amid important developments on the regional and international plans, it provides a useful opportunity for the foreign ministers of neighbouring regional states to hold bilateral meetings. While in Herat, the ministers are also expected to call on the senior leadership of Afghanistan.
The next meeting of the council of ministers as well as the ECO summit would be held in Pakistan in 2008.
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