Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar on Tuesday urged the member states to ensure effective implementation of the Economic Cooperation Organization Trade Agreement (ECOTA) to help strengthen regional security and economic prosperity through mutually beneficial intra-regional trade.
“However, It is a matter of great concern that the ECO region, comprising an area of 8 million square kilometres and half a billion population – roughly 15% of the World population, has intra-regional trade of, unfortunately, less than 8% of region’s aggregate, and only about 2% in global trade, which is in stark contrast to other regional groupings such as the EU where the intra-regional trade stands above 70%, and the ASEAN, where it is around 23%,” the deputy prime minister said addressing the 28th Meeting of ECO Council of Ministers (COM) being hosted in Mashhad, Iran.
He said the ECOTA was a landmark intra-regional preferential trade agreement, which was conceptualized exactly in line with the founding and fundamental goals of the organization to create amenable and conducive conditions for the promotion of sustainable economic development of the region, aiming at joint welfare and well-being of member states.
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“ECOTA primarily aims to lower tariffs in our region over an agreed timeframe and provides an excellent platform for the promotion of our region’s economic interests by trade promotion and facilitation. Despite a considerable period since its inception, it has yet to see day the light of implementation. So far, only five member states have signed the agreement,” he added.
Dar said that as the coordinating country on ECOTA, Pakistan attached great importance to its early implementation, and urged all member states to take a broader and more holistic view of the matter.
The deputy prime minister told the gathering that ECO Vision 2025“, adopted during the 13th ECO Summit in Islamabad in 2017 was a key document that guided towards increasing intra-regional trade; strengthening regional connectivity; operationalizing the major ECO transport corridors; coordinating efforts to achieve energy security and sustainability; increasing inter-regional trade including increasing contribution of ECO countries in the global trade, and finally promoting tourism.
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He urged the member states to redefine the targets and priorities keeping in view the evolving regional and World Order besides giving due importance to Uzbekistan’s proposal of 2035 Strategic Objectives, which had the potential to contribute to the Organization’s goals.
The deputy prime minister started his remarks by strongly condemning the Israeli genocide in Gaza and its aggression in Lebanon.
“We are concerned over the escalating hostilities in the Middle East, wherein Israel has endangered regional peace and security. The people of Palestine, Lebanon and the wider region deserve to live free from fear and violence. Pakistan reiterates its call to uphold peace and security in the region, safeguard Lebanon’s sovereignty and put an end to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Palestine,” he remarked.
Dar highlighted that the Treaty of Izmir envisaged a closely knit fraternity of member states, in an integrated, interconnected and prosperous region; however, the member states had yet long way to go to realize the spirit and objectives of the Treaty by harnessing its full potential and bring tangible benefits to the ECO community.
“We stand at the crossroads of North-South and East-West hemispheres. The key to unlocking the geo-economic potential of the ECO region lies in greater connectivity, through the development of road and rail corridors, liberalization of visa regimes and simplification of border procedures. This approach will enable us to act as a bridge and create mutual inter-dependencies for sustainable growth while allowing us to devise a better strategy for efficient use of energy resources,” Dar emphasized.
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Calling the promotion of trade and investment a key strategy to strengthen our security, the deputy prime minister said greater economic cooperation among the ECO countries would bring peace and stability to the region.
He apprised the participants of the operationalization of the Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad (ITI) road corridor and called for more Border Crossing Points in the ECO region notified as TIR Stations to facilitate trade operations.
Ishaq Dar reiterated that as one of the founding members of ECO, would continue to be an active participant in shaping ECO’s agenda and remain fully committed to helping ECO fulfil it.
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