TEHRAN – Iran has recorded an 82 percent growth in trade with members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) over the past five years, a senior trade official announced this week, reaffirming Iran's commitment to strengthening regional economic ties despite ongoing challenges.

Elham Hajikarimi, director of the Revival Office of Trade Agreements and International Organizations at the Iran Trade Promotion Organization, made the announcement during the first meeting of the "Technical Committee for Negotiations on the ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA)" in Tehran.

"Despite the oppressive sanctions and the imposed war against our country, which has damaged some of our trade and economic infrastructure and created limitations, Iran is fully prepared to actively participate in the ECO and to help formulate a new trade agreement," Hajikarimi stated.

She emphasized that all member countries, beyond the current ECOTA members, can use the existing ECOTA text as a framework to move toward a more comprehensive agreement—one that addresses both present needs and future requirements.

Hajikarimi underscored the necessity of cooperation among all members to realize the ECO 2035 vision, noting that Iran has focused its economic and trade diplomacy on maximum engagement with friendly countries, including ECO member states.

--------Strategic regional bloc

The Economic Cooperation Organization, with its permanent secretariat located in Tehran, comprises 10 member nations: Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.

The organization represents over 500 million people and spans a vast geographic region connecting Central Asia, the Caucasus, the West Asia, and South Asia.

The ECO's primary objectives, outlined in its charter and the 2035 Vision, include facilitating intra-regional trade, improving transportation networks, and eventually establishing a common market. Key frameworks like ECOTA aim to liberalize and boost commerce among members.

-----Transport connectivity

In a related development last August, Iran's Transport and Urban Development Minister Farzaneh Sadegh announced that Iran is prepared to provide facilities for landlocked ECO member states to develop multimodal transport links.

Speaking at a meeting of ECO landlocked countries in Turkmenistan, Sadegh highlighted that strengthening transport and transit connections between landlocked and coastal ECO countries is a priority under the Izmir Treaty, the organization's founding document.

Sadegh noted that Iran's strategic location at the crossroads of north–south and east–west transport corridors, combined with 250,000 kilometers of roads, 15,000 kilometers of railway, and 16 commercial ports, positions the country to play a constructive role in regional connectivity.

The recent launch of an ECO freight train connecting Turkey, Iran, and Turkmenistan—part of the Almaty–Tashkent–Ashgabat–Tehran–Istanbul corridor—was cited as a milestone in linking landlocked ECO states to global markets.

Iran has also drafted an "ECO Gate" document aimed at granting landlocked members access to open seas with special port and maritime concessions from coastal members, a proposal awaiting implementation with support from the ECO Secretariat and relevant UN offices.