ECO Underlines Development of Transportation Infrastructures

The Transportation Committee Meeting of ECO Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECO CCI) on Sunday emphasized the development and upgrading of physical infrastructure for transportation of cargo and communication among ECO members countries.The Economic Cooperation Organization Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECO CCI), having its Headquarters in Iran, is holding 16th Executive Committee and Other Specialised Committee Meetings, at the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) in Pakistan for three-days, which started on Saturday. Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) is the host. Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan are its members. The delegates from Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan have joined the important economic event. Vice President of ECO CCI and former president Sultan Ahmad Chawla is leading FPCCI participants. Secretary General of ECO CCI, Dr Muhammad Reza Karbasi highlighted the activities of the Chamber and its future plans for the promotion of trade and investment among ECO member countries aimed at economic uplift and development of ECO region. He said the efficiency, growth and output of the regional economic agreements come after the creation of infrastructures and increase in trade facilities in the region on gradual basis. Since the establishment of ECO, smoothening of transportation and transit among the member countries have been deemed very necessary and many efforts have been made, he said. In pursuance of the agreement among Iran, Pakistan and Turkey, the track for the ECO Container Train was determined and tentatively inaugurated in 2009. Then, international consultants were hired who accompanied the ECO Train through the path linking Islamabad, Zahedan, Tehran, Istanbul to verify the flaws in the route. This train has, however, made great achievements in curtailing the transit route of goods. Initially it took 15 days to reach Istanbul from Islamabad. Later, the time was decreased to eleven and half days to cover the distance of 6,500 kilometers. He said the train would be able to transport one million passengers and 8 million tons of cargo annually. He supported that there should be multiple visas for cargo carrier drivers and unified Customs systems at the borders of all member countries. He said two main bridges-Chahju in Iran and Sarus in Turkmenistan-need to be reconstructed or at least repaired to ensure smooth movement of cargo and people in ECO region. In different sessions, presentations and detailed discussions were made on the ways and means to promote trade and investment in the ECO region.