DUSHANBE, December 7, Asia-Plus - Ambassador Khurshid Anwar, Secretary General of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) will arrive in Tajikistan on December 12 for a four-day visit, according to Tajik MFA.    

A source at Tajik MFA said that during his staying in Dushanbe Ambassador Khurshid Anwar is scheduled to meet with Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zaripov, Economic Development and Trade Minister Ghulomjon Boboyev, Energy and Industry Minister Sherali Gulov and Agriculture and Environmental Protection Minister Abdurahmon Qodirov.  

Next Friday, December 15, ECO Secretary General will hold talks with President Emomali Rahmonov.  The two will discuss issues related to cooperation within the organization and further development of it.   Rahmonov and Anwar will exchanged views on further expansion of cooperation between member nations of the Organization in the fields of commerce, energy and development of transport infrastructure, the source said.

During his stay in Dushanbe, Khurshid Anwar will also attend a meeting of UN Special Program for Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) that will be held here on December 15, according to the source.  

SPECA was launched in 1998 to strengthen sub-regional cooperation in Central Asia and its integration into the world economy. The members of SPECA are Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.  It is jointly supported and implemented by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE).

Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is an intergovernmental regional organization established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey for the purpose of promoting economic, technical and cultural cooperation among the Member States.  ECO is the successor organization of Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD), which remained in existence since 1964 up to 1979.  In 1992, the Organization was expanded to include seven new members, namely: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.  The date of the Organization’s expansion to its present strength, 28 ^th November, is being observed as the ECO Day.

Over the past 12 years the member states have been cooperating to accelerate the pace of regional development through their common endeavors.  ECO has embarked on several projects in priority sectors of its cooperation including energy, trade, transportation, agriculture and drug control.