TEHRAN The 8th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) foreign ministers' Conference concluded its work in Almaty, Kazakhstan, paving the way for the fifth ECO summit there. At the end of the ministerial conference a draft resolution was issued and the presidents of member-states will ratify this resolution. President Seyed Mohammad Khatami will attend the ECO summit on May 11 when the draft resolution will be approved by all the ECO heads of state.

At the end of its work on Saturday three cooperation agreements were signed by participants. The main three areas of cooperation approved by the ECO members are transportation, combating drugh trafficking, ensuring that customs regulations are forging proceedural regulations for ECO research center. Uzbak representative at the meeting declined to sign any of three agreements, on the ground that his country needed more time to study the accords before inking them.

The representative of Turkmenistan signed all agreements except one concerning the ECO Research Center. Iran's Foreign Minster Kamal Kharrazi also attended the two-day ministerial conference on May 9-10. Among the topics to be discussed at the summit are trade and development bank, shipping, oil, gas, energy and communications. The first ECO summit was held in Tehran in 1992, the second in Istanbul in 1993, the third in Islamabad in March 1995, and the Fourth held in Ashkhabad in 1996.

The fifth is being held in Almaty now. ECO has observer status in the UN and the Organization of Islamic Conference. Formal working relationships with ESCAP, IDB, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNFPA, UNDCP, UNDP and FAO have been already established. ECO groups Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan. The organization was first founded by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey in 1964.