January 24, 2023
Tashkent, Uzbekistan—The 26th Meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Council of Foreign Ministers convened today in Tashkent, bringing together foreign ministers and high-level officials from member states to discuss strategies for enhancing regional collaboration.
Chaired by Uzbekistan's Acting Foreign Minister, H.E. Mr. Bakhtiyor Saidov, the meeting saw participation from the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Türkiye, and Turkmenistan. ECO Secretary General Khusrav Noziri also attended the event.
The Council reviewed the organization's recent activities and approved new proposals recommended by senior officials. A significant outcome of the meeting was the adoption of the "Tashkent Communique," a comprehensive document emphasizing the need for enhanced regional cooperation across various sectors. The communique underscores the importance of increasing the ECO's global visibility and strengthening partnerships with other regional and international institutions.
In his opening remarks, Acting Foreign Minister Saidov highlighted the pivotal role of the ECO in fostering economic growth and stability in the region. He called for collective efforts to address shared challenges and capitalize on opportunities to promote sustainable development among member states.
ECO Secretary General Khusrav Noziri provided an overview of the organization's achievements over the past year and outlined future initiatives aimed at deepening economic integration and cooperation. He emphasized the importance of implementing the decisions made during the meeting to achieve the ECO's strategic objectives.
Reflecting on Uzbekistan's role, Noziri noted,
It was the first time for Uzbekistan in the history of its membership in ECO to chair the regional intergovernmental organization consisting of ten member states.
He commended Uzbekistan's leadership during its chairmanship in 2022, stating,
Uzbekistan has demonstrated excellent leadership and played a key role in advancing the organization's objectives.
Discussing the significance of the Tashkent Communique, Noziri remarked,
This comprehensive document covers all priority areas of our activity, including trade and investment, transport and connectivity, energy, minerals, environment, tourism, sustainable development, etc.
He added,
The communique further endorses ECO activities being undertaken to increase global visibility of the Organization as well as its working partnerships with other regional and international institutions.
The meeting also featured discussions on various topics, including trade and investment, transportation and connectivity, energy, environmental sustainability, and tourism. Member states reaffirmed their commitment to working collaboratively to enhance economic ties and improve the quality of life for their populations.
The 26th Meeting of the ECO Council of Ministers in Tashkent marks a significant step forward in strengthening regional cooperation and sets a strategic direction for the organization's future endeavors.
For a more in-depth perspective, read the full interview with ECO Secretary General Khusrav Noziri here:
Your Excellency Khusrav Noziri, in December 2022, the ECO declared Shakhrisabz as its tourism capital for 2024. What does it mean for Shakhrisabz?
We started this tradition in Dushanbe. In 2021, by the decision of the Council of Ministers for Tourism in the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), for the first time, the capital of Tajikistan was declared the capital of tourism. The Iranian cities, including Sari, the capital of the province of Mazandaran, and Ardabil for 2022 and 2023, followed. These cities have taken relevant measures, particularly regular meetings of the tourism councils. The fact that the city is declared as the capital of tourism indeed serves as an additional incentive and supplementary opportunity for these cities to attract more tourists to their countries and for further tourism development in the member states. In this context, I am more than confident that in the year of the proclamation of Shahrisabs as the tourist capital, we will witness significant events in the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan, particularly in this beautiful historical city of Shahrisabs.
How will this boost the tourism sector?
In December last year, under the chairmanship of Uzbekistan, the fourth regular meeting of the Ministers of Tourism of the ECO member countries was held in a virtual format. During the Ministers of Tourism meeting, two essential documents were approved, namely, the Samarkand Declaration - a very extensive, informative document that covers all parties and aspects of strengthening cooperation in the field of tourism. It also adopted a road map to promote accelerated recovery and safe, sustainable development in the tourism sector following the COVID-19 pandemic in the ECO region. These documents aim to ensure the recovery in the field of tourism in our time. As you know, the region has considerable resources in tourism - and historical, cultural, medical, and ecotourism. All kinds of tourism in our area are present. We note the growth in the number of tourists arriving in the region. But the potential is excellent...
Greater!
It is more significant, indeed. And we think that these activities that we are carrying out within our organization in all six priority areas will contribute to further development.
Can you highlight the key points of today's meeting?
I want to say that it was the first time for Uzbekistan and the history of its membership in ECO to chair the regional intergovernmental organization consisting of ten member states. It's one of the oldest regional organizations in the world because the history of its establishment goes to the 60s of the last century. But if we talk about the outcomes of today's meeting, I would like to say that one of this organization's most important decisions is adopting the outcome document, which is the Tashkent communique. This comprehensive document covers all priority areas of our activity, including trade and investment, transport and connectivity, energy, minerals, environment, tourism, sustainable development, etc. Besides, the ministers make decisions on several important initiatives. One of them is the decision to establish a high-level committee to discuss and develop new proposals and recommendations for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of our organization. As I said before, the basis of this proposal is the initiative of the honourable President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, which he announced during the last SCO summit in Ashgabat in November 2021. The second important decision was establishing the high-level dialogue platform on environmental cooperation, which was also developed based on the initiative of the honourable President of the Republic of Uzbekistan announced during the SCO summit in Ashgabat 2021. Also, there was a decision to establish a regional centre for risk management of natural disasters, and a treaty event was organized. And the Islamic Republic of Iran, as the host country of this newly established regional centre, signed the charter of a regional centre for risk management of natural disasters.
Khusrav Noziri is a national of the Republic of Tajikistan who took over his responsibilities as the 13th Secretary-General of the ECO in August 2021.
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