”We are happy to host the 13th ECO Summit and look forward to advancing our mutual goals, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry … By ;Asghar Ali Mubarak..

”We are happy to host the 13th ECO Summit and look forward to advancing our mutual goals, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry 

By ;Asghar Ali Mubarak

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry  said ,”We are happy to host the 13th ECO Summit and look forward to advancing our mutual goals in the coming days, leading up to the Summit.” Pakistan has always attached great importance to ECO .He said that Pakistan had faced the brunt of terrorism and was greatly affected by Afghanistan’s instability.Terming Afghanistan as its twin brother and extending full support for the country’s peace process, the foreign secretary welcomed the upcoming Economic Cooperation Organization’s special meeting on Afghanistan in Kabul.“Let me assure our Afghan brothers that we would continue to contribute to the ECO efforts to provide assistance to Afghanistan,” he said at the Senior Official Meetings (SOM) scheduled February 26-27 ahead of the 13th ECO summit in Islamabad on March 1.“We are happy to host the 13th ECO summit and look forward to advancing our mutual goals in the coming days leading up to the summit,” a press statement quoted him as saying.“Pakistan has always attached immense importance to the organisation and its objective as demonstrated by our active role in the ECO,” he said.The theme as well as key focus of the ECO summit is “Connectivity for Regional Prosperity”.Economic integration and connectivity are the main pillars to galvanize economic growth, create job opportunities, expand trade, improve competitiveness and usher prosperity in the region, Chaudhry said.There is a need to create a world-class logistics infrastructure within the ECO region for speedy movement of goods and people at a reduced cost that would stimulate investment and growth.“The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a major initiative in this regard. This is a mega project which would benefit the entire region. The economic corridor is anticipated as a game changer not only in Pakistan-China context but it would also complement the economies of the entire neighbourhood, especially the ECO region,” he said.Pakistan last hosted the third ECO Summit in Islamabad in May 1995.

Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry highlighted the need to create a world-class logistics infrastructure within the Economic Coordination Organization (ECO) region for speedy movement of goods and people at a reduced cost that would stimulate investment and growth.He said that “Pakistan has always attached immense importance to the organization and its objective as demonstrated by our active role in the ECO”.“China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a major initiative that would help achieve the core objectives of ECO. This is a mega project which would benefit the entire region,” he said.The CPEC is anticipated as a game-changer not only in Pakistan-China context but it would also complement the economies of the entire neighbourhood, especially the ECO region, he added.He said the 13th ECO Summit has adopted the topical theme of “Connectivity for Regional Prosperity” as its key focus. The economic integration and connectivity are the main pillars to galvanize economic growth, create job opportunities, expand trade, improve competitiveness and usher prosperity in the region.He said the importance of trade figures show that ECO countries cannot be over-emphasized. Pakistan attaches great importance to its trade relations with the ECO countries and desires to significantly raise the volume of its trade with the member states, he added.ECO Vision 2025, he said, is an important document which would steer the Organization and serve as a roadmap for the success of the Organization in the coming years.Its emphasis on infrastructure development, facilitation of transit among member states and free trade would offer potential and practical remedies for the region’s socio-economic development. “We see the adoption of Vision 2025 as a step in the right direction,” he said.Peace in Afghanistan is very dear to us, he said. Pakistan is major affectee of the instability in Afghanistan and considers Afghanistan as its twin brother and fully supports the peace process in Afghanistan, he added.“We welcome the upcoming ECO Special Meeting on Afghanistan under the ambit of ECO in Kabul this year and let me assure our Afghan brothers that we would continue to contribute to ECO’s efforts to provide assistance to Afghanistan.”Chairing the session, he welcomed the members to Pakistan and said,”We are happy to host the 13th ECO Summit and look forward to advancing our mutual goals in the coming days, leading up to the Summit.” Pakistan has always attached great importance to ECO and will remain in the forefront for the actualization of its agenda, he added.“Our deep appreciation is due to Secretary General ECO Halil Ibrahim Akca and his team for their hard work and support in making these events successful.”He also acknowledged the valuable contribution made by the member states of ECO towards regional cooperation and economic integration. However, about the financial health of ECO Secretariat, he said the issue of outstanding arrears by some Member States has become a serious impediment in the smooth functioning of the Secretariat. “We hope that the member states in arrears would take measures for the payment of their dues at the earliest.”As regards Scale of Assessment, he said some of the Member States including Pakistan have agreed to the proposal of ECO Secretariat. Pakistan is working out a plan in this regard, he informed.He also expressed his gratitude to the Permanent Representatives for diligently working on the draft and clearing almost 75% of the Islamabad Declaration. “The remaining paragraphs, I am confident, would be adopted in a spirit of cooperation, and mutual accommodation,” he added.He said he was sure this august house will examine closely the progress, achieved so far and work together to take the Organization forward. “I am confident that with our collective efforts, we can make ECO a vehicle for progress and prosperity in our region.”The two-day Senior Official’s Meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization concluded in Islamabad .The Meeting was chaired by the Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry.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 to be held tomorrow was also finalized.The meeting approved the ECO Vision 2025 and decided to place it before the Council of Ministers meeting to be held tomorrow.The meeting agreed on text of Islamabad Declaration and recommended its approval by the COM.