Pakistan hosts regional bloc meeting to strengthen economic ties among 10 member states

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Foreign ministers and senior officials from 10 member states gather for two-day talks focused on regional connectivity, economic integration and strengthening cooperation under Pakistan’s chairmanship.

A two-day ministerial meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) kicked off in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday with an initial gathering of senior officials from member states, a Pakistani foreign ministry official said.

Foreign ministers and heads of delegations from the 10 member states, along with representatives of the ECO Secretariat and its subsidiary bodies, are participating in the 30th edition of the ECO Council of Ministers Meeting, chaired by top Pakistani diplomat Ishaq Dar.

As chair of the ECO for 2026-2027, Pakistan will seek to advance the organisation's objectives under the theme "Reviving Regionalism for a Resilient ECO."

Pakistan's chairmanship will focus on strengthening regional connectivity and deepening integration, while promoting regional partnerships and collective efforts toward greater prosperity, sustainable development and a more integrated and resilient ECO region, according to a foreign ministry statement.

This, it added, would also provide an opportunity to reinvigorate the ECO's role as an effective platform for regional cooperation, dialogue, and economic collaboration.

"These efforts will contribute towards unlocking the region's considerable economic potential and ensuring that the benefits of regional cooperation are translated into tangible improvements in the lives of the people of ECO Member States," the statement concluded.

Founded in 1985 by Türkiye, Iran and Pakistan, the organisation was expanded in 1992 to include Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.

The total nominal GDP (economic value) of the bloc's 10 member states is approximately $3 trillion.

Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Musa Kulaklikaya is leading Türkiye's delegation at the meeting, while Tahsin Ertugruloglu, foreign minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), also arrived in Islamabad on Saturday to attend the gathering.

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