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Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Day Celeberated at ECOSF

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ISLAMABAD (November 28, 2012): Economic Cooperation Organization Science Foundation (ECOSF) celebrated Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Day here on Wednesday.

ECOSF President Prof. Dr. Manzoor H. Soomro, who is also Chairman of Pakistan Science Foundation, in a statement on Wednesday said ECO Day is observed to renew our commitment that ECO's three basic members Iran, Pakistan and Turkey had made from the platform of Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) to achieve sustainable development in the region.

ECO is an intergovernmental regional organization established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey for the purpose of promoting economic, technical and cultural cooperation among the Member States, said Dr. Soomro, adding, ECO is the successor organization of RCD which remained in existence since 1964 up to 1979.

In 1992, the Organization was expanded to include seven new members, namely: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan. The date of the Organization's expansion to its present strength, 28th November, is being observed as the ECO Day.

He said this year we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the expansion of ECO from a three to a ten-member regional organization. During these years, we have become closer sharing a commonality in history and heritage, geographic proximity and culture. The 20th anniversary of ECO reminds us of all this and urges us to continue pursuing our goals with greater vigour and commitment, he added.

The ECOSF President said development in the region is very progressive especially in trade and education sectors etc. ECO's three specialized agencies including ECOSF with headquarters (HQ) in Islamabad, ECO Educational Institute with HQ in Ankara and ECO Cultural Institute with HQ in Tehran, have been established. All three institutes are planning for cultural integration, he said, adding, in this connection a joint Conference will be held in April 2013 in Ankara.

Dr. Soomro said over the past 12 years the member states have been collaborating to accelerate the pace of regional development through their common endeavors. Besides shared cultural and historic affinities, they have been able to use the existing infrastructural and business links to further fortify their resolve to transfer their hopes and aspirations into a tangible reality. ECO has embarked on several projects in priority sectors of its cooperation including energy, trade, transportation, agriculture and drug control.

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