ISLAMABAD (IRNA) -- A three-day Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) meeting on privatization begins here today, Pakistan Minister for Privatization and Investment Zahid Hamid said on Monday.

Hamid told the media that more than 30 delegates from 10 member countries will attend the conference, which will conclude on April 12.

Giving the details, the minister said that the First Meeting of High Level Experts Group (HLEG) on Privatization & Private Sector Development will have two sessions.

In the first inaugural session on April 10, a presentation will be made by the ECO Secretariat on cooperation in the field of privatization and private sector development.

During the second session High Level Experts, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic will make country presentations.

ECO consists of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, covering 7.9 million square kilometers with a population of around 380 million.

The ECO region is endowed with immense natural resources and enjoys a very strategic geographic location at the crossroads of main commercial centers and regions.

The principal objective of ECO includes fostering of economic development of member states; removing trade barriers, promoting intra-regional trade and stimulating economic liberalization, privatization and the gradual integration of the region into the world economy.

All these objectives require a high level of cooperation in the field of industry, investment and privatization.

Within the framework of industrial cooperation, the ECO Secretariat has organized various events in the field of privatization and private sector development.

The First ECO Ministerial Meeting (January 2004) adopted the Tehran Declaration and Plan of Action on Industrial Cooperation.

The Plan of Action on Industrial Cooperation states that the member countries will cooperate with each other for industrial restructuring efforts, policies including development of entrepreneurial skills, privatization, post privatization support, SME support, reforming public enterprises through joint programs, projects, workshops, short- and long-term training courses.