ECO- Economic Cooperation Organization

History
Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is an intergovernmental regional organization
encompassing countries from Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia, Middle East and South Asia with
more than 460 million inhabitants and over 8 million square kilometers connecting Russia to the
Persian Gulf and China to Europe. The overall objective of the Organization is the sustainable
economic development of its Member States and the Region as a whole.

In 1992 and in the aftermath of the collapse of Soviet Union, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and
six former Soviet Republics, namely, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz
Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan also joined the
Organization, forming one of the biggest regional blocs in Asia and beyond.

Over the past three decades or so, the ECO Member States have been collaborating to accelerate
the pace of regional development through their common endeavors. Besides shared cultural and
historic affinities, they have been able to use the existing infrastructural and business links to further
fortify their resolve to transfer their hopes and aspirations into a tangible reality.

In March 2017, Heads of States/Government of the Member States in their 13th Summit in
Islamabad endorsed “ECO Vision 2025” where main directions of the ECO in the years to come are
drawn.

The 14th ECO Summit was convened virtually on March 4, 2021 under the theme of ‘Regional
Economic Cooperation in the aftermath of COVID-19’. The Heads of States/Government of the
Member States recommended various significant initiatives aimed at pushing the process of
development in the region in the aftermath of COVID-19.

Member States
According to the Article XIII of the Treaty Of Izmir, “Any State enjoying geographical contiguity with
the ECO region and/or sharing the objectives and principles of ECO may apply to become a
member of the Organization.” Currently ten countries from West and South Asia, Caucuses and
Central Asia are Members of the Organization:

Afghanistan Azerbaijan Iran Kazakhstan Kyrgyz Republic

Pakistan Tajikistan Türkiye Turkmenistan Uzbekistan
Observers
Observership in ECO is open to other regional or international organizations, states and institutions.
Current observers of ECO are:
Turkish Cypriot State (since October 2012)
Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (since October 2014)
International Energy Charter (since February 2017)
Secretary General
The Secretary General of the ECO is elected and appointed by the Council of Ministers from
among the candidates nominated by the Member States on the basis of qualifications, experience
and suitability as laid down in the Staff Regulations of the ECO Secretariat. As the Chief
Administrative Officer of the Organization, Secretary General is responsible for all activities of the
Organization. The Secretary General is discharging his duties over a non-renewable three-year
terms of office.
H.E. Amb. Khusrav NOZIRI (Tajikistan national) is ECO Secretary General. He is the 13th
Secretary General of the ECO who started his tenure in August 2021.

Projects

The transport and communications sector, since the early years of ECO,
is on the top of the agenda. Key documents in this field are: the Quetta
Plan of Action; the Istanbul Declaration (ECO Long Term Perspectives);
the Almaty Outline Plan for the Development of Transport Sector in the
ECO region; the Ashgabat Declaration of 1997; the Programme of Action
for ECO Decade of Transport and Communications; and the Transit
Transport Framework Agreement.