OREANDA-NEWS. March 10, 2009. The capital of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran will host the 10th ECO Summit Meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) on March 11, 2009. President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov will take part in the ECO Summit.

The Economic Cooperation Organization was founded in 1985 as an intergovernmental international organization involving ten Asian nations on the initiative of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of Turkey. on November 28, 1992 along with Turkmenistan Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan joined the ECO. It 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, much like the European Union. ECO’s secretariat and cultural department are located in Tehran, its economic bureau is in Turkey and its scientific bureau is situated in Pakistan.

Profoundly contributing to cooperation among the ECO member states Turkmenistan attaches paramount importance to regional partnership. Turkmenistan’s role in developing regional cooperation is defined by such key factors as the profound economic potential, favourable geopolitical location and peace loving and good neighbourly foreign policy strategy. The priority fields of cooperation with the countries in the region are trade and economy, transport and communication, fuel and energy, social and humanitarian sectors.

The past years are marked with considerably intensified cooperation between Turkmenistan and the ECO focused on the search for and use of the effective ways to collaborate. In this regard an important event was the visit of ECO Secretary General Mr. Khurshid Anwar to Turkmenistan in March 2007. During the talks President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Mr. Khurshid Anwar exchanged views on the current condition and perspectives of Turkmenistan’s participation in the Organization. Taking account of the vast opportunities to enhance regional partnership, Turkmenistan’s increased economic potential and industrial and communication infrastructure the sides expressed the willingness to develop and expand full-scale cooperation in the priority fields of partnership.

In December 2007 ECO Secretary General Mr. Khurshid Anwar attended the international conference of preventive diplomacy and international cooperation in Ashgabat. During the visit the ECO Secretary General held the talks at the Government, ministries and departments of Turkmenistan to discuss the aspects of bilateral cooperation and Turkmenistan’s contribution to the ECO’s activities.

The priority fields of Turkmenistan-ECO cooperation include the development of the transport and communication networks facilitating the integration processes in the region. In particular, the common large-scale projects include ‘the golden link’ of the TransAsian trunk railway – Tejen-Serahs-Mashad railway line as a bridge-head linking the countries of the region with the ports in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. The railway opening ceremony was conducted in the framework of the Fourth Summit Meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization which was held in Ashgabat in May 1996.

Turkmenistan’s projects on construction and reconstruction of the transport and telecommunication network meet and interrelate with the aims and objectives of the Programme of Action for ECO Decade of Transport and Communications. Under this Programme our country completed a number of the large-scale projects promoting the national interests as well as social and economic progress of the countries in the region. The railways Turkmenabat-Atamurat and Ashgabat-Dashoguz are actively operated. The project on construction of Ashgabat-Dashoguz highway is under completion. These transport and communication routes are to expand intergovernmental cooperation in as well as outside the region.

The Joint Declaration of the Presidents of Republic of Kazakhstan on construction of the railway Uzen(Kazakshtan)-Kyzylkaya-Bereket-Etrek(Turkmenistan)-Gorgan(Iran) was adopted during the Caspian Summit Meeting attended by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in Tehran in October 2007. This project is a priority line of the North-South transport and communication corridor which is of exceptional significance of the ECO member states as well as other Eurasian countries.

The legal aspects of cooperation among the ECO member states are regulated by the bilateral and multilateral documents. In particular, these include the Ashgabat Declaration signed by the heads of the ECO member states in May 1997 upon closing the Extraordinary ECO Summit Meeting and setting forth the key goals and priority trends in further regional cooperation particularly in transport and communication sector.

The trade and economic relations among the ECO member states focus on the development and expansion of fuel and energy partnership. Ranking among the world’s natural gas producers and exporters Turkmenistan endeavours to develop multivariant pipeline systems. Gas-rich Turkmenistan is interested in diversifying transit of its energy to international markets seeking to balance the interests of all participating countries.

The current agenda of Turkmenistan’s energy policy includes several projects aimed at fostering transit of Turkmen energy to international markets. These pipelines will cross the territories of the ECO member states that will invariably contribute to the further economic growth of these countries, solve their energy problems, develop the relevant infrastructure, create new jobs and eventually provide a positive impact on the social and political situation in the region as well as on the planet.

When considering the further development of economic cooperation among the ECO member states the measures taken by the Organization to maintain peace and stability in the region should be highly appreciated. ECO implements a number of the projects to foster Afghanistan’s economic and social development. The ECO member states established the Special Fund for the reconstruction of Afghanistan

Turkmenistan’s foreign policy strategy includes special attention to the assistance and aid to neighbouring Afghanistan. On the initiative of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov our country implements a number of the social, humanitarian and energy projects in Afghanistan aimed at fostering the social and economic progress of the neighbouring country, enhancing the Turkmen-Afghani relations and preserving stability and security in the region.

Pursuing the policy of peaceableness, good neighbourliness and equal partnership Turkmenistan actively contributes to developing close cooperation to combat terrorism, illicit drug trafficking and organized crime in the region. In this regard the Second Meeting of the ECO Interior Ministers which was held in Ashgabat last May and focused on the urgent problems and further ways to intensify cooperation to combat transnational crime, drug trafficking and other illicit activities is of particular significance. This meeting highlighted our country’s readiness to collaborate with the Economic Cooperation Organization in future integration programmes.