DUSHANBE, September 28, 2010, Asia-Plus — The Ministry of Energy and Industries of Tajikistan (MoEI) will host the 2nd Ministerial Meeting on Energy/Petroleum of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO).
The source at a MoEI says the meeting that will take place from September 29 to 30 is expected to bring together energy and oil ministers from Tajikistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to discuss energy and oil cooperation within the ECO area.
The meeting is expected to formally decide on the status of extension of the Plan of Action (2001-2005 extended up to 2010) and the future course of action in the Energy/Petroleum sector.
The 1st Ministerial Meeting on Energy/Petroleum took place in Islamabad, Pakistan ten years ago, the source added.
According to Iran’s Fars News Agency, energy experts of the ECO member nations met in Tehran, Iran on September 20-21 to study cooperation among member states in the field of energy. They also discussed topics of the 2nd ECO Ministerial Meeting on Energy and Petroleum.
The Economic Cooperation Organization is an intergovernmental organization involving seven Asian and three Eurasian nations. It provides a platform to discuss ways to improve development and promote trade, and investment opportunities. The ECO is an ad hoc organization under the United Nations Charter. The common objective is to establish a single market for goods and services, much like the European Union.
The Organization was by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey in 1985 for the purpose of promoting economic, technical and cultural cooperation among the member states. It was the successor organization of what was the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD), founded in 1962, which ended activities in 1979. In the fall of 1992, the ECO expanded to include seven new members, namely Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
