ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Commerce, Textile and Trade will host the 5th ECO Ministerial Meeting on Commerce and Trade in Islamabad on 24th of January, 2018.
This was stated by Minister of Commerce and Trade Pervaiz Malik while giving a statement at a high level committee meeting.
It is pertinent to mention here that the ECO is an organization of 10 Islamic countries namely Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.
He opined that, despite the cultural and geographical proximity, intra-ECO trade is far below its true potential. He said in order to enhance the intra-ECO trade, an agreement, called the ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA), was signed during the 2nd Ministerial Meeting on Commerce and Foreign Trade on July 17, 2003 by five out of 10 ECO Member States named Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Turkey.
The agreement has not been implemented as yet due to non-submission of Tariff Concession Lists by Iran and Tajikistan and non-ratification of annexes to the agreement. The Ministry of Commerce has been requesting Iran and Tajikistan to expedite the completion of formalities so that the agreement could be set in operation and intra-ECO trade gather pace.
In addition to expediting the process of operation of the ECOTA, this ministry would also be hosting the 5th ECO-Ministerial Meeting on Commerce and Trade in Islamabad on 24th of January, 2018. In this regard, it is also important to mention here that Ministry of Commerce hosted a 3rd seminar on trading patterns in ECO Region in May, 2016 and 4th Seminar on trading patterns in ECO Region for the relevant government officers of the member states of the ECO countries by Pakistan Institute of Trade and Development (PITAD) Islamabad on 24-25 October, 2017.
The seminar provided opportunities to the officials of the ECO countries to discuss matters relating to Intra-ECO trade and bring improvements in the regional trade flows.
