Iran to help strength ECO
Mottaki was addressing the inaugural ceremony of the 17th ECO Regional Planning Council meeting. Praising the council for holding such meetings, he said "regular meetings of the council, which is responsible for drawing practical plans to realize ECO goals, show ECO's dynamism and its efforts to achieve its goals."
He said forgetting the sad consequences of war and divisive regulations and expanding cooperation at regional and international levels were among signs of development and growth of human thought.
"Clear results of efforts to restore security and welfare for all nations in various fields of life are evident," the minister said.
He noted that there was more stability in the ECO region today and more efforts being made by its members to materialize the organization's goals and promote cooperation.
Pointing to the significance of the organization's vision plan document up to fiscal year 2015, Mottaki said: "It is necessary to adopt immediate and fundamental measures in various fields including gradual decreases in tariffs, removal of trade non-tariff obstacles and moves toward establishment of free trade zones in the region to materialize the main goals mentioned in the plan.
"Iran, as a founding member of ECO and a country which hosts its secretariat, has a positive view of the organization's performance and activities," Mottaki said.
He said that refusal of certain ECO members to sign the organization's important agreements and lack of a reliable source for statistics and information on ECO activities were among the organization's shortcomings.
He noted that implementation of agreements signed by the ECO members at national levels and commitment of members to undertakings made at different sessions would strengthen the organization's position and strength. The minister said that the Islamic Republic of Iran was "ready and eager to provide services that will help meet the organization's needs, improve its current situation and achieve its goals."
He expressed optimism over ECO's future and hoped the organization would become a model for other regional organizations in terms of materialization of lofty goals in the near future.
"This is not just a wish. It is in line with a main policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran which puts expansion of amicable relations and cooperation with Muslim and neighboring states high on its agenda," Mottaki stressed.
He said technical and financial aid from regional and international organizations and wise management of financial sources would be good ways to reach such exemplary position.
The secretary general of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) underscored the importance of implementing agreements.
Addressing the 17th ECO Regional Planning Council meeting, Khurshid Anwar urged the ECO member states to sign and ratify greements. He then urged expeditious action, particularly in the three primary fields of trade, transport and energy.
Regretting that the ECO member states have not gone far enough in the field of science, he said one obvious reason is the low priority that they have given to the issue. The ECO Science Foundation was approved more than a decade ago yet there has been no progress in that important project, he said adding, "I would urge all member states to take it up with the seriousness it merits. We have to make up for years' long neglect and we must move with speed."
ECO has been able to lay institutional framework for cooperation in important areas, Anwar said expressing regret that some member states have yet to sign and ratify these agreements.
Indeed, an agreement as important as ECOTA has been signed by five member states and ratified by only two so far, he said stressing that this is an agreement which lies at the center of ECO's goals and objectives.
"We must not forget that regional economic integration will remain a dream without sustained increase in intra-regional trade. There is an urgent need to expedite signing and ratifying ECO agreements. It is after we have completed this process that we can hope to reap the real benefits of regional cooperation," he noted. Elsewhere in his speech, Anwar referred to the organization's performance in the past year saying, "In the transport field, the Transit Transport Framework Agreement became effective in May 2006. Its coordination council (TTCC) met in Baku in September. Three of its subsidiary committees would meet during the next few weeks in Iran, Pakistan and Turkey."
In the energy sector, the ECO main project at the moment is the interconnection of power systems of member states, he said adding that a feasibility study is already underway.
As to the importance of promotion of agricultural cooperation among ECO member countries, the secretary general said the ECO agricultural ministers' meeting in Tehran next month will mark an important move in that direction.
"Currently, we are implementing the Regional Program for Food Security in cooperation with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Development Bank (IDB). We also propose to hold a donors' conference and a business forum to generate necessary funding," he stressed.
In the field of industry, an important milestone was the third ECO industry ministers meeting held in Lahore in November 2006 during which a regional strategy on industrial cooperation was adopted and a plan of action for the establishment of ECO Technology Center was approved, the ECO secretary general added.
He further noted that an important ECO event in November last year was the first meeting of interior ministers held in Tehran where the members acknowledged that terrorism and transnational organized crimes posed a threat.
On reconstruction of Afghanistan, he said a contract worth $1.3 million is ready for signing shortly.
Appreciating the contributions by Pakistan, Turkey and Iran regarding the Afghan reconstruction, Khurshid Anwar urged other member states to make contributions to the fund for Afghanistan's reconstruction. In conclusion, he expressed the hope that the current meeting would be able to hold constructive deliberations among the regional states.
"Our decisions should facilitate implementation of ECO agreements and bring us closer to our over-arching goal of regional economic integration."