History
The Economic Cooperation Organization was the successor organisation of what was theOfficial names
The officialObjectives 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 fieldsMembership
Full members
Observers
*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.General Secretariat
The General Secretariat (GS) consists of six directorates under the supervision of the Secretary-General and his deputies. Two specialized agencies and six regional institutes are acting under the supervision of the GS. * ECO Directorate of Industry & Agriculture * ECO Directorate of Trade & Investment * ECO Directorate of Energy, Mineral & Environment * ECO Directorate of Transport & Communications * ECO Directorate of Economic Research & Statistics * ECO Directorate of Project Research & DevelopmentActivities
Activities of ECO are conducted through directorates under the supervision of Secretary-General and his Deputies which considered and evolve projects and programs of mutual benefit in the fields of: * Trade and Investment * Transport and Telecommunications * Energy, Minerals and Environment * Agriculture, Industry and Tourism * Human Resources & Sustainable Development * Project & Economic Research and Statistics A Transport Council to develop clearer transport and transit policies is proposed. ECO has selectedSummits and General Secretaries
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 by the three founding members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in 2005 which are the Islamic Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Republic of Turkey. The Republic of Azerbaijan, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Kyrgyz Republic became the member of the ETDB in 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively. As of 31 December 2015, paid in the share capital of the ETDB was SDR 310,870 thousand since Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, and Kyrgyzstan are in process of payment of their paid-in capital contributions. The Bank has successfully started its operations in 2008. Its headquarters is 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. 11ECO Cultural Institute (ECI)
ECO Cultural Institute (ECI) is affiliated with ECO and aims at fostering understanding and the preservation of the richOthers
*ECO Supreme Audit Institutions *ECO Cultural Institute * ECO Science Foundation *ECO Educational Institute *ECO Drug Control Coordination Unit *ECO Trade Promotion Unit *ECO Post *ECO Shipping Company *ECO Regional Center for Risk Management of Natural DisastersRelationship with other organizations
All the ECO states are also member-states of theLeaders of ECO member states, as of 2022
Leaders are eitherSee also
*Notes
References
External links