Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) Preceding The 22nd Meeting Of The Council Of Ministers Of The ECO Concludes

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published February 27, 2017 | 09:15 PM

ISLAMABAD, , (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Feb, 2017 ) The Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) preceding the 22nd meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) hosted by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan concluded here Monday.

Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry chaired the meeting which was attended by senior officials from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The Secretary General of ECO, Halil Ibrahim Akca as well as representatives of the ECO Specialized Agencies and Regional Institutions were also present. The Senior Official Meeting deliberated on issues such as the work plan of ECO, reports and recommendations emanating from sectoral meetings, follow up of the implementation of decision of the previous Ministerial meetings as well as preparation for 22nd COM and the 13th Summit.

The Agenda for the 22nd ECO Council of Ministers Meeting (COM), to be held on Tuesday was also finalized.

The Secretary General of the ECO presented a report containing activities of the ECO since the 12th Summit of the Organization in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The SOM approved the ECO Vision 2025 and decided to place it before the Council of Ministers meeting to be held on 28 February 2017. The Vision document outlines tangible goals for the Organization in various areas of cooperation including trade and transit in medium term.

The SOM agreed on text of Islamabad Declaration and recommended its approval by the COM. Islamabad Declaration 2017 contains the salient points of cooperation among the members of ECO in the fields of connectivity, trade, transport, energy etc.

The Senior Officials appreciated the initiatives being pursued by the Organization in various sectors. The participants also exchanged views on the ongoing activities and projects and future program of action in various key areas.