ECO Planning Council Holds Meeting in Tehran


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The 24th session of the Regional Planning Council of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) started work in Tehran on Sunday morning in presence of Abbas Araqchi, the Iranian deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs.

The meeting also includes the ECO Secretary General Shamil Askerov and representatives from the ECO member states.

ECO is an intergovernmental regional organization established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey for the purpose of promoting economic, technical and cultural cooperation among member states.

The organization was expanded in 1992 to include seven new members, namely Afghanistan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It became a UN observer in 1993 and an observer at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in 1994.

ECO's secretariat and cultural department are located in Tehran, its economic bureau is in Turkey and its scientific bureau is situated in Pakistan.