- PM Shehbaz leads Pakistan’s delegation in two-day summit.
- Premier to reaffirm Islamabad’s commitment to ECO Vision 2025.
- Will also advocate for intra-regional trade and energy cooperation.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday departed for Azerbaijan to attend the two-day 17th ECO Summit titled “New ECO Vision for a Sustainable and Climate Resilient Future” in Khankendi.
Leading Pakistan’s delegation, PM Shehbaz will share Pakistan’s perspective on key regional and global challenges while reaffirming commitment to the ECO Vision 2025.
Apart from advocating for enhanced intra-regional trade, transport connectivity, energy cooperation, and sustainable development, the premier will also hold bilateral meetings with other ECO leaders on the sidelines of the Summit to discuss matters of mutual interest.
It is to be noted that Pakistan is among the founding members of the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD), formed back in 1964, along with Iran and Turkiye, which was rechristened as ECO in 1985.
With 10 member countries, the regional trade of ECO nations amounts to $76 billion — making it a key regional forum for the promotion of trade and investment as it connects the north to south, south and east to the west, Asia to Europe and Eurasia to the Arab world.
The organisation, in the past few years, has emerged as a platform for “economic diplomacy and activism”.
Pakistan had hosted the 13th ECO summit back in 2017 wherein the member countries’ heads of states/governments had endorsed and adopted the ECO Vision – 2025.
