ECO Secretary-General: 2026 is Year of Implementation; Vision 2035 Underway

Looking ahead, Mr. Khan emphasized that 2026 will be dedicated to implementation, with Member States reaffirming readiness to host numerous ministerial meetings across key sectors, including Environment, Industry, Energy, Tourism, Agriculture (hosted by Iran), DRR, ICT, Transport, and Interior.

Furthermore, a key initiative for 2026 is the formulation of the Strategic Goals of Economic Cooperation 2035, a new long-term vision mandated by the Ministers. The Secretary-General confirmed that this strategy is being shaped through broad consultations and is expected to be finalized by mid-2026.

The full text of the speech delivered by ECO Secretary-General Asad Majeed Khan is as follows:

It is my great privilege to welcome you all to the ECO Day, where we celebrate the establishment of this Organization founded in 1964 as RCD, renamed as ECO in 1985 and expanded to assume its present state in 1992. 

I would like to sincerely thank the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially, the Diplomatic Club administration for their generous support in offering this splendid venue to facilitate our today’s celebrations. 

Let me also extend a special welcome to His Excellency Dr. Seyed Reza Salehi Amiri, Honourable Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Iran, whose presence today as our chief guest is greatly appreciated and indeed is an honor for us at ECO.

Distinguished Participants,

The informative documentary shown, just now, explained the history of ECO, context and, highlighted its sector-wise priorities. To save time and avoid repetition, I would like to just focus on the organization’s activities this past year. During 2025, the ECO has witnessed a remarkable revival of its ministerial and high-level engagement processes, marked by strong participation of all Member States.

The 17th ECO Summit held in Khankendi under the theme “New ECO Vision for a Sustainable and Climate-Resilient Future,” was a major milestone in ECO’s history. The Summit introduced the first-ever ECO Week, which brought together a range of stakeholders, including women, youth and business communities to deliberate on the Organization’s future priorities.

This year also marked the successful convening of various ECO ministerial meetings. The Interior Ministers’ Meeting, held in Tehran, on October 28, 2025 after a gap of 15 years, adopted the Tehran Declaration, reaffirming the member countries’ collective commitment to combat terrorism, organized crime and emerging security threats through closer law enforcement and crimes prevention cooperation.

The Trade Ministers Meeting, held in Istanbul, after a gap of 14 years, took a number of important decisions, including the adoption of negotiation strategy to amend ECOTA. These outcomes would give new momentum to our trade integration agenda.

The 13th Transport Ministerial Meeting held in June in Tehran adopted the Tehran Declaration, which provides a forward-looking blueprint for enhancing regional connectivity. The proposals to establish ECO Special Fund for Transport Development and plans for an Investment Conference on Transport Projects reflect growing ambition to link our region through modern, green and digital corridors.

The 6th Tourism Ministerial Meeting in Erzurum achieved notable results by selecting Lahore (2027), Mary (2028) and Karakol (2029) as upcoming ECO Tourism Capitals, and launching the ECO Tourism Investment Guide to attract investment and promote cross-border tourism.

Distinguished Participants,

In the energy and environment sectors, the ECO Clean Energy Centre (CECECO) in Baku became operational and the ECO Regional Electricity Market (ECO-REM) advanced toward implementation.

The Five-Year Roadmap on Minerals Cooperation (2026–2030), the first of its kind and the RESCUE Initiative on Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy further underline our collective pursuit of sustainable and resilient growth.

Our agriculture and industry agenda continued to progress with preparations underway for the 8th Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture, to be hosted by Iran on February 17, 2026 and work continues toward convening the long-pending 4th Industry Ministerial Meeting in Tajikistan next year.

The First ECO Forum on Sustainable Development held in Arkadag and the establishment of the High-Level Working Group on Sustainable Development strengthened policy coherence in this vital area. In disaster risk reduction, steady progress has been achieved through technical meetings and regional exercises, leading to the updating of the ECO Regional Framework on DRR (ECORFDRR).

In addition to the ministerial meetings, listed above, ECO also organized a number of sectoral activities at experts’ level and concluded several new agreements, MoUs and action plans, this past year.

Distinguished Participants,

In advancing ECO’s global outreach, we have engaged a broad range of regional and international partners to align our Organization with emerging economic and development priorities. My recent participation in the SCO Summit in China provided an important opportunity to deepen ECO’s dialogue with SCO, CIS, EAEU, ASEAN and the AIIB, with a shared understanding that closer interregional connectivity and coordinated initiatives can bring tangible benefits to our Member States. We also extended our outreach to African Union, and ASEAN through the representative missions of their member states in Tehran.

Last month, I also undertook a visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where constructive exchanges with the Government, the Islamic Development Bank, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Digital Cooperation Organization reinforced ECO’s commitment to building practical cooperation. These engagements form part of our broader efforts to position ECO as an active and responsive partner within the evolving regional architecture, ensuring that our Member States are better connected, better placed and better funded to benefit from emerging opportunities.

Distinguished Participants,

Looking ahead, 2026 will be the coming year will be one of implementation and consolidation. Member States have already reaffirmed their readiness to host in 2026 the Ministerial Meetings on Environment (Uzbekistan), Industry (Tajikistan), Energy (Turkiye), Tourism (Azerbaijan), Agriculture (Iran), DRR (Pakistan), ICT (Pakistan), Transport (Kazakhstan) and Interior (Pakistan). Collectively, these high-level gatherings will turn our shared commitments into practical results, driving progress and delivering real benefits to the peoples of the ECO region.

We are also currently formulating the Strategic Goals of Economic Cooperation 2035, a new vision mandated by our Ministers to guide ECO’s long-term direction. This forward-looking strategy aims to strengthen cooperation in our key priority areas as reflected in the short documentary. For the first time, the process is being shaped through broad consultations with Member States and diverse stakeholders, ensuring an inclusive and practical framework that builds on the lessons of Vision 2025. We expect to finalize this important ECO document by mid-2026.

Dear Guests,

Before concluding, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on its upcoming ECO Chairmanship in 2026. We are confident that, under Pakistan’s able leadership, the Organization will continue to advance its objectives with renewed vigor and achieve even greater milestones.

Let us also thank all the ECO Permanent Representatives for their presence today as part of the ECO family and for their contributions in making this past year a successful and productive year.

Thank you all for gracing this occasion with your gracious presence today. Your participation adds immense value to our celebration and reinforces our shared commitment to regional cooperation for development and progress across all member states.

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