President Stresses Upon Enahnced Cooperation Among ECO Members

President Mamnoon Hussain Wednesday said the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) members needed to strengthen transport and communication infrastructure, facilitate trade and investment and identify its important sectoral priorities for the development and growth in the region

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jan, 2018 ) :President Mamnoon Hussain Wednesday said the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) members needed to strengthen transport and communication infrastructure, facilitate trade and investment and identify its important sectoral priorities for the development and growth in the region.

The president was talking to a delegation of attorneys/prosecutors general of ECO countries led by secretary general Halil Ibrahim Akca who called on him at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, a press release said.

He pointed out that economic complementarities held the promise of expanding both inter-regional and intra-regional trade and cooperation within the ECO framework. The ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA) was the organization's major initiative towards trade liberalization in the ECO region, he added.

The president stressed that an effective judicial cooperation would contribute to the security, stability and economic uplift of the region. He said the ECO region, located at the crossroads, had both the potential and the capacity to function as a bridge between North and South, Europe and Asia.

He further stressed the importance of combating transnational crimes including terrorism, money laundering and drug trafficking and reiterated the significance of judicial cooperation between the ECO member states.

The president said as the current chairman of ECO, Pakistan realized its responsibility and extended its full support to the ECO projects and initiatives.

He emphasized that institutional and people-to-people connectivity was of immense importance for the region.

He said the deliberations at the 3rd meeting of attorneys/prosecutors general would lead to enhanced judicial cooperation between ECO member states. He observed the meeting would help participants exchange perceptions of crimes such as acts of terrorism, smuggling and money laundering.

He hoped that the meeting would also address possible oversight mechanisms to combat those crimes at the regional and international level. The common threats including cyber-crimes endangered legal safety and security of all countries in the region, he added.

The president said the 13th ECO Summit held in Islamabad last year adopted the Islamabad Declaration and ECO vision 2025 which provided guidelines for greater economic integration within the ECO region.

The declaration focused on 'Connectivity' as a dynamic concept encompassing multiple dimensions from transit transport linkages to cyber connections, he added. He said the execution of 'ECO Vision-2025' underscored the importance of working together for ECO's prosperity and Pakistan believed that ECO Vision 2025 would serve as a roadmap for the success of the organization in the coming years.