ECO

The OTS has established close relations with the Economic Cooperation Organization since 2012.


At the ECO Summit held on 16th October 2012, in the Summit Declaration, the Heads of State “welcomed the endorsement by the Council the observer status to then called Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States.[…]”. Observer/Dialogue Partnership status was granted to the Turkic Council for an initial period of 3 years, which is renewed every 3-year periods.  
The Secretariat actively participates ever since in the Regional Planning Council (RPC) and relevant meetings at the level of Ministers upon invitation from the ECO Secretariat. In addition, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the ECO and the OTS was signed on 23rd September 2014 in New York enabling deeper relations between two organizations. 
At the 23rd Council of Ministers Meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization hosted by the Republic of Tajikistan on 16-17 April 2018 in Dushanbe, the Council of Ministers approved the renewal of the observer status of the OTS for the second time to the Economic Cooperation Organization.
It should be noted that the ECO, where all Member States of the OTS are also members, is the only organization that the OTS has observer status so far.
The two organizations individually work on areas such as economy, transportation, tourism, customs, and education yielding positive results for regional development. There is ample room to work on joint projects in boosting cooperation in the region. In this regard, the current observer status of the OTS to the ECO provides both sides with the opportunity to exchange views on the issues of mutual interest and act together with the view to contributing in regional development.
On the other hand, continuing to participate in the ECO meetings will further enable the OTS to interact with other players in the region, while being instrumental in informing at length the international community of its vision and mission as well as its projects and activities based on the principles of comprehensive and inclusive regional cooperation.
The Secretary General of the OTS and President of ECO CCI signed the MoU on cooperation between the Turkic Business Council and ECO CCI on the margins of the 25th Executive Committee Meeting of the ECO CCI. The MoU aims at enhancing cooperation between both organizations and identifying areas of mutual interest with a view to promoting close cooperation, and consultation on matters of common concern in order to contribute to the economic and social development of the OTS and ECO Member States, as well as establishing and maintaining effective, systematic consultation, cooperation, coordination and exchange of useful information between the Parties.
In April 2019 the delegation of the OTS Secretariat headed by the Secretary General paid a working visit to the Secretariat of the ECO in Tehran. The visit was conducted to seek avenues for collaboration and revitalize the scope of cooperation enshrined in the Memorandum of Understanding, which was signed between ECO and the OTS in 2014. Based on the mutual understanding reached by the Secretaries General, the Parties agreed to convene experts of both Organizations once a year to follow-up implementation of the targets identified in the work program and discuss new steps to be taken in the forthcoming years.
Latey in September 2023, OTS Secretary General participated and addressed in the Informal Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in the capacity of the observer organization in New York.
The Informal Ministerial meeting was attended by the Ministers and high-ranking government officials of the ECO Member States and Observers.
Emphasizing the unique opportunity to participate in an open and constructive dialogue with ECO, Secretary General noted that two organizations are the symbol of regional collaboration that promotes economic growth, social development and political stability in the region.
Secretary General invited the ECO Member States to expand the joint implementation of projects in the field of economy, transport, energy, agriculture, tourism and others in order to achieve the positive outcomes of the regional development.
He also referred to the implementation of concrete tasks outlined in the joint “Work Program for 2023-2024” developed between the OTS and ECO, proposed to strengthen the healthcare, environment, aerospace, human resources and other priority areas of the mutual interest.
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