On Friday, at the online meeting of the 29th ECO Council of Ministers (COM) meeting hosted by Kazakhstan, the Iranian Foreign Minister expressed his gratitude for the chairmanship of the meeting by Mr. Baybit Krataev, Director of the Middle East and Africa Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan.
Arachi, who chaired the last ECO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting hosted by Iran, noted the developments in the ECO region over the past year since the last Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and outlined prospects for cooperation among member states.
He considered that the most important development of the past year was the active attack by the Zionist regime and the United States against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was met with a determined defense of the Iranian military. He said the Tel Aviv regime and the United States had set a very dangerous example of lawlessness and disregard for the principles of international law with their invasion.
He emphasized the important place of ECO in Iran’s foreign policy and regional diplomacy, and considered President Masoud Pezeshkian’s attendance at the ECO Summit in the Republic of Azerbaijan as a clear expression of Iran’s determination to make full use of the capabilities of ECO countries for the common economic development of regional countries.
The Iranian Minister further considered the holding of the ECO Transport Ministers’ Meeting and the ECO Interior Ministers’ Meeting in Iran, together with the ECO Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Turkey, as one of the good events in the ECO region, saying that this not only contributes to a deeper understanding of the possibilities of cooperation among member countries, but also paves the way to further strengthen regional cooperation.
In a subsequent virtual speech, Mr. Araguchi referred to the process of formulating the ECO vision for the next ten years, and, referring to regional and global developments, reminded of the need to adapt the patterns governing economic cooperation in the ECO to global developments.
At this meeting, the ECO chairmanship for 2026 was handed over to Pakistan.
MNA