ECO moot on privatisation today

A three-day Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) moot on privatisation begins in Islamabad on Tuesday, Minister for Privatisation and Investment Zahid Hamid said on Monday. Hamid told the media that more than 30 delegates from 10-member countries would attend the conference that would conclude on April 12.
Giving details, the minister said that the first meeting of high-level experts group (HLEG) on privatisation and private sector development would have two sessions. In the inaugural session on April 10, a presentation will be made by the ECO Secretariat on "ECO cooperation in the field of privatisation and private sector development." During the second session, high level experts from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyz will make their country presentations.
On April 11, the presentation by Pakistan will include papers on "Role of the government and legal and regulatory framework of the Privatisation Commission by Pir Saad Ahsanuddin, Member PC Board, paper by Abdul Ahad Effendi, Consultant (Banking) on "Role of financial advisors in privatisation process and paper on "Workers welfare measures by Muhammad Asghar, Senior Financial Consultant. On April 12, the second meeting of Heads of Privatisation Administration (HOPA) of ECO Member States will be inaugurated and report of the meeting will be adopted, which will consider the proposals by HLEG; review the Plan of Action and exchange view on privatisation policies and practices etc.
The ECO is a regional, intergovernmental organisation of 10 countries: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, covering 7.9 million sq. km with around 380 million population. The ECO region is endowed with immense natural resources and enjoys a very strategic geographic location at the crossroads of main commercial centers and regions.
The principal objective of ECO includes fostering of economic development of member states; removing trade barriers, promoting intra-regional trade and stimulating economic liberalisation, privatisation and the gradual integration of the region into the world economy.
All these objectives require a high level of cooperation in the field of industry, investment and privatisation. In fact, various ECO documents, ie Quetta Plan of Action, Resolution of Council of Ministers emphasise the importance of industrial cooperation.
Within the framework of industrial cooperation, the ECO Secretariat has organised various events in the field of privatisation and private sector development. The First ECO Ministerial Meeting (January 2004) adopted the Tehran Declaration and Plan of Action on Industrial Cooperation.
The Plan of Action on Industrial Cooperation states that the member countries will cooperate with each other for industrial restructuring efforts, policies including development of entrepreneurial skills, privatisation, post privatisation support, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) support, reforming public enterprises through joint programs, projects, workshops, short and long term training courses etc.