The meeting was hosted by H.E. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey. Ministers, Deputy Ministers and high level officials from I.R. of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, I.R. of Iran, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, I. R. of Pakistan, Republic of Tajikistan, Republic of Turkey, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan attended the Meeting. Delegations of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States also participated in the meeting as observers. Secretary-General of ECO along with relevant staff of the Secretariat, as well as the Presidents of ECO Specialized Agencies and Affiliated Bodies were also present.
During the meeting, ECO’s policies, programmes and activities which aim to accelerate intraregional trade and economic activities among ECO Member States and to facilitate regional integration and socio-economic development were discussed. In his statement, H.E. Hadi Soleimanpour, ECO Secretary General particularly focused on the implementation of the ECO Vision 2025, ECO’s transformation into a project-oriented organization as well as the need to foster the spirit of ownership, partnership and commitment to mutual obligations among ECO Member States.
In the meeting, the ECO Educational Institute was represented by a delegation headed by President Prof. M. Akif KİREÇCİ. During the meeting, President Kireçci delivered a statement about ECOEI activities and functions since the last COM Meeting in April 2018. Prof Kireçci briefly described the international events organized by ECOEI, such as Language Learning and Training Workshop, and the workshop on “How to Write and Publish Articles for Journals” as well as Symposium on Common History, Culture, Education and Civilization and invited representatives to propose projects for similar events in their respective states.
He stressed the importance of education in fostering economic cooperation and stated that ECOEI’s capacity to fulfill its share in achieving ECO Vision Statement 2025, i.e. “a territory of integrated and sustainable economies as well as free trade area achieved by highly educated societies and improved governance through enhanced cooperation.” heavily depends on the ownership of the member states.
The meeting was finalized by Adoption of Antalya Communique by ECO Council of Ministers, which highlights ECO Member States willingness to intensify their cooperation in transportation, energy, tourism and cultural activities.