DUSHANBE, March 10, 2009, Asia-Plus — Today afternoon, President Emomali Rahmon will depart for Tehran to attend the 10th summit meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) that will be held in the Iranian capital on March 11.
According to presidential press service, during his stay in Iran, Tajik leader will also visit a number of Iranian provinces.
The source at the Iranian Embassy in Dushanbe said that Rahmon was also scheduled to hold talks with his Iranian counterpart, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to discuss state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and Iran.
According to information posted on ECO’s website, the summit will be attended by heads of state/government, heads of Eco regional institutions and specialized agencies as well as representatives of ECO’s partner regional and international organizations. The summit offers a welcome opportunity to ECO leaders to review progress on various projects of the organization, consider new proposals to strengthen regional cooperation and discuss ways and means to implement them. They will consider the report of the chairman of the council of ministers and the report of the secretary general. The global financial crisis and challenges more specific to the region will also come under discussion. The heads of state and government would issue policy guidelines to promote economic cooperation and accelerate regional integration.
ECO’s role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan is an important area of its activities. The meeting will review progress made so far and consider new projects for Afghanistan. In addition, measures to combat drug trafficking and implementation of important agreements, especially the ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA) and Transit Transport Framework Agreement (TTFA), would be evaluated.
The Tehran Declaration that will be issued on the conclusion of the summit would reflect progress made in different fields and the future projects and projections. As well, the Declaration will include the decisions and policy guidelines of the ECO leadership to carry forward regional cooperation.
On March 15, President Rahmon will pay visit to Turkey. During his stay in Turkey, Rahmon will take part at a ceremony of opening of a new building of the Tajik Embassy in Ankara and attend the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, presidential press service said.
The 5th World Water Forum is expected to be held in Istanbul from March 16-22.
The World Water Forum is the main water-related event in the world, aimed at putting water firmly on the international agenda. A stepping stone towards global collaboration on water problems, the Forum offers the water community and policy-and-decision-makers from all over the world the unique opportunity to come together to create links, debate and attempts to find solutions to achieve water security. It is organized every three year by the World Water Council, in collaboration with the host country.
