The Economic Cooperation Organization or ECO

The Economic Cooperation Organization or ECO is a Eurasian political and economic intergovernmental organization which was founded in 1984 in Tehran by the leaders of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. It provides a platform to discuss ways to improve development and promote trade and investment opportunities.

The ECO is an ad hoc organisation under the United Nations Charter.

The objective is to establish a single market for goods and services, much like the European Union.The ECO's secretariat and cultural department are located in Iran, its economic bureau is in Turkey and its scientific bureau is situated in Pakistan.

The nature of the ECO is that it consists of predominantly Muslim-majority states as it is a trade bloc for the Central Asian states connected to the Mediterranean(بحیرہ روم) through Turkey, to the Persian Gulf via Iran, and to the Arabian sea via Pakistan. 

The current framework of the ECO expresses itself mostly in the form of bilateral agreements and arbitration mechanisms between individual and fully sovereign member states. 

Objectives & Principles of Cooperation
1:Sustainable economic development of Member States;
2: 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;
3:Development of transport & communications infrastructure linking the Member States with each other and with the outside world;
4:Economic liberalization and privatization;
5: Mobilization and utilization of ECO region's material resources;
6:Effective utilization of the agricultural and industrial potentials of ECO region.
7: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
8:Mutually beneficial cooperation with regional and international organizations.
9:Sovereign equality of the Member States and mutual advantage;
10:Linking of national economic, development plans with ECO's immediate and long-term objectives to the extent possible;
11:Joint efforts to gain freer access to markets outside the ECO region for the raw materials and finished products of the Member States;
12:Effective utilization of ECO institutions, agreements and cooperative arrangements with other regional and international organizations including multilateral financial institutions;
13:Common endeavors to develop a harmonized approach for participation in regional and global arrangements;
14: Realization of economic cooperation strategy; and Exchanges in educational, scientific, technical and cultural fields
IN SHORT
1: REDUCTION OF TRADE BARRIERS
2:INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION CONSTRUCTION BETWEEN MEMBER COUNTRIES
3:CREATION OF YOUTH FOUNDATION
4:CULTURAL COOPERATION
5:ECONOMIC COOPERATION,EDUCATION AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH,ETC 

MEMBERS

1: ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTAN

2:ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN 

3:REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN 

4:KYRGYZ REPUBLIC

5:ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN

6:REPUBLIC OF TAJIKISTAN 

7:REPUBLIC OF TURKEY

8:TURKMENISTAN

9:REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN

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:
1:Trade and Investment
2:Transport and Telecommunications
3:Energy, Minerals and Environment
4:Agriculture, Industry and Tourism
5:Human Resources & Sustainable Development
6:Project & Economic Research and Statistics

Regional Institutions & Agencies

ECO Chamber of Commerce and Industry

ECO Reinsurance Company

ECO Consultancy & Engineering Company

ECO Trade and Development Bank

ECO Cultural Institute (ECI)

THE 13th summit of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) ended in Islamabad on Wednesday with the resolve to double intra-regional trade in the next five years through implementation of the ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA) and other ECO trade arrangements. The summit was attended by all 10 ECO members, although Afghanistan was represented at a lower level perhaps at the behest of India, yet the successful holding of the ECO summit has frustrated the efforts of those who wished to isolate Pakistan. The leaders of participating countries emphasised the importance of connectivity for prosperity of the region and exchanged views on regional and global issues.

 At the end of the session, 

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said: “The successful holding of the summit is a manifestation of the desire and commitment of the member states to transform the ECO into a vibrant regional bloc.”

1:Intra-regional trade among the ECO member states is currently eight per cent of their cumulative external trade whereas the target is to increase it to over 20 per cent. Given the will and determination of the member countries, ECO would be a success story in the near future.

2:In ECO ministerial meeting in Herat, the countries of the region had expressed their determination to fight terrorism and poverty, and also to make it a Free Trade AreaThere is need for an early implementation of the ECO Free Trade Area, as it has the potential to open up vast opportunities for the economic uplift of the people of the whole region..

3:the most logical and viable route for trade with Central Asian countries is Afghanistan; therefore the sovereign, independent and stable Afghanistan is not only in the interest of Pakistan but also in the interest of the entire region. Pakistan had espoused a lot of expectations for establishing an ideal relationship with Central Asian states that became independent countries after collapse of the Soviet Union. It was rightly so because Pakistan had played a crucial role as a frontline state against Communism. It is also due to Pakistan’s strategic position, which is a meeting point between Sinkiang of China, Iran and Central Asian Republics. Of course, Karachi was the most viable route for Central Asian states.

4:Pakistan is now in a position to offer CARs the access to sea through Gwadar Port also, as communications network-linking Pakistan to Central Asia is in progress. Feasibility on some of the proposed projects including Turkmenistan-Pakistan gas pipeline could also be worked out when violence in Afghanistan subsides. There was almost a consensus among the member-countries that the ECO should follow the example of other regional groupings, such as the European Union, to work together to boost development, wealth and education. But for this purpose, the countries of the region should repose trust in each other and resolve their differences, as the European Union could only be established when European countries had resolved their differences. Anyhow, Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asian countries have to remember that they are bound with each other through religious, cultural, historical and economic ties over centuries.

On opening ceremony of naval exercise at Karachi Dockyard, flags of 37 participating countries were hoisted, reflective of the trust in Pakistan’s role to fight terrorism and efforts for peace. 

Yet, anti-Pakistan lobbies are at work; a report compiled by American think tanks has been submitted to the Trump administration advising it to use isolation threat and hardening Washington’s stance towards Pakistan if it does not stop the use of terrorism in Afghanistan and India. 

In fact, India has been trying hard to isolate Pakistan for the last one year, and a few American think tanks also appear to have stepped up their efforts, but they are bound to fail.

CHALLENGES
1:GREAT POWER POLICIES
2:SOURCES OF ISLAMIC MOVEMENTS
3:TURKEY IRAN COMPETITION

PAKISTAN ROLE?

1: PAKISTAN IS THE FOUNDER COUNTRY 
2:ESTABLISHMENT OF PEACE
3:GAWADER PORT 
4:MUTUAL TRADE