Foreign Minister Khurshid M. Kasuri left here for Afghanistan to attend 17th meeting of the Council of Ministers of Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) being held in Herat on Saturday. The meeting will review progress achieved so far on major ECO projects including the ECO Trade Agreement.
The ECO Trade and Development Bank, the Transit Transport Framework Agreement and the feasibility study on inter-connection of power systems of member states. The ECO Trade Agreement (Ecota) is expected to enter into force shortly, and it will lead to establishment of a Free Trade Area in the region by the year 2015.
As ECO's co-ordinating country for Ecota, Pakistan will seek early operationalisation of the agreement. The ECO Trade and Development Bank has also made progress and it will commence its operations by the end of 2007.
The meeting will focus on establishment of an ECO wide power grid. Some ECO member states including Pakistan are deficient in electricity, while certain proximate states including Iran, Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic generate surplus power.
A study is being conducted by Nespak to develop regional interconnectivity options with a view to facilitate regional trade in electricity. Data has already been collected from Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan and the Kyrgyz Republic in this connection.
Pakistan will seek early completion of the study. Pakistan has already agreed to purchase 1000 MW from Iran bilaterally. The ECO meeting will provide a useful opportunity to consolidate Pakistan's active role in the ECO. Among other issues, Pakistan is keenly interested in establishment of the ECO Reinsurance Company and the ECO Science Foundation, both of which are to be based in Pakistan.
Pakistan hosted over a dozen ECO meetings including the Third Ministerial Meeting on Industries as well as technical meetings on Agriculture, Environment, Transport, Science and Technology and Disaster Management last year. The visit of Foreign Minister Kasuri to Afghanistan will provide an opportunity for bilateral meetings with counterparts and to discuss matters of bilateral and regional interest.