DUSHANBE, March 11, 2010, Asia-Plus — Dr. Hojatollah Ayyubi, President of ECO (Economic Cooperation Organization) Cultural Institute (ECI), heading ECI delegation arrived in Dushanbe for a six-day visit, according to the Ministry of Culture (MoC).
On Wednesday March 10, Hojatollah Ayyubi had talks with Tajik Minister of Culture Mirzoshorukh Asrori. The two discussed a broad range of issues related to cultural cooperation within the ECO as well as celebration of the Navrouz holiday by representatives of three Persian-language nations in Tajikistan in 2011.
The source at a MoC said that the ECI delegation had arrived in Tajikistan to participate at an international scientific conference dedicated to the 1,200 anniversary of a famous Sunni Islamic scholar of Persian ancestry Imam al-Bukhari that would take place here on March 12.
The delegation is also scheduled to discuss with Tajik officials opening of the ECO representative office in Dushanbe and the center for selling cultural goods from the ECO member nations in Khujand, the source added.
The 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. 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.
The ECO provides a platform to discuss ways to improve development and promote trade, and investment opportunities. The common objective is to establish a single market for goods and services. ECO”s secretariat and cultural department are located in Tehran, its economic bureau is in Turkey and its scientific bureau is situated in Pakistan.
Recognizing the importance of the ECO cultural heritage and its impact on enrichment and development of cooperation in all aspects in the region, the ECO member nations decided to revive the former RCD Cultural Institute under the name of ECO Cultural Institute during the third ECO Summit Meeting held in Islamabad in March 1995. ECI, with headquarters in Tehran, is the only functional entity amongst the ECO Specialized Agencies. Its Charter is ratified by Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Tajikistan.
