Iran stresses closer cooperation among ECO members

Iranian Industries, Mines and Trade Minister Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh underlined the necessity for continued and expanded cooperation among the members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO). Nematzadeh said on Wednesday that Iran is determined to expand economic relations with member states of the ECO. He made the remarks in a meeting with the ECO Secretary General Shamil Aleskerov on the sidelines of the National Seminar of Non-Oil Exports in Tehran. Nematzadeh said new facilities have been provided for expansion of economic cooperation with the ECO member states. He said the Islamic Republic of Iran wants to improve its economic status and raise Iranian share in the world markets. He said that the Islamic Republic of Iran gears up for keeping the economic relations abreast with the excellent political relations with the ECO member states. Aleskerov, for his part, said that the ECO has made planning for e-commerce among its member states. He said that e-commerce will be cost-effective enabling the ECO member states to gain good share in the global markets by offering competitive prices for their products. The ECO is an intergovernmental organization involving seven Asian and three Eurasian nations, part of the South-central Asian Union. It provides a platform to discuss ways to improve development and promote trade, and investment opportunities. The ECO is an ad hoc organization under the United Nations Charter (Chap. VIII). The common objective is to establish a single market for goods and services, much like the European Union. ECO's secretariat and cultural department are located in Tehran, its economic bureau is in Turkey and its scientific bureau is situated in Pakistan. The organization's population is 416,046,863 and the area is 8,620,697 km². The organization was founded by Turkey, Iran and Pakistan. The ECO has 10 member-states at present time. Turkey, Republic of Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are member-states of ECO.