ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar was on Friday elected chairman of the Economic Cooperation Organisation’s Council of Ministers (ECO-COM), the Foreign Office (FO) has announced.
The ECO — originally formed in 1964 as the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) by Pakistan, Iran and Turkiye — adopted its current name in 1985. The organisation aims to promote sustainable economic development and deepen regional cooperation. Its 10 members include Pakistan, Iran, Turkiye, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
According to the FO, the COM meeting was held virtually, where Dar underscored the organisation’s role in advancing prosperity, economic integration and regional connectivity. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to ECO Vision 2025 and expressed readiness, as the incoming chair, to collaborate with member states on finalising ECO Vision 2026–2035.
The statement noted that Dar emphasised Pakistan’s priority to strengthen multimodal transport corridors, harmonise customs systems, and align transport frameworks for seamless regional integration.
He reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to major connectivity initiatives, including the Islamabad–Tehran–Istanbul Rail Corridor, the Eurasian Multimodal Corridor, and the Uzbekistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan Railway. Referring to last month’s Regional Transport Ministers’ Conference in Islamabad, he said Pakistan was playing an active role in shaping cooperation in road, rail, maritime, and digital connectivity.
Dar also highlighted Pakistan’s liberalised visa regime, which facilitates easier travel for businesspersons and tourists from 126 countries.
He called on ECO members to deepen collaboration across various sectors, including sustainable transport, transit trade, customs harmonisation, climate-resilient infrastructure, and counter-terrorism.
Addressing the meeting, Dar said Pakistan views the ECO as a vital platform for strengthening multilateral ties among member states. “Pakistan remains steadfast in its efforts to advance regional connectivity through integrated and efficient transport corridors,” he said, describing the development of transport links as a central objective of Islamabad’s regional policy.
