Prime Minister Imran Khan will open on Thursday the virtual 14th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in Pakistan’s capacity as the Chair of the 13th Summit, held in Islamabad in March 2017.

Pakistan is one of the founding members of ECO, in addition to Iran and Turkey. The Organization was formed in 1985 from the erstwhile Regional Cooperation for Development. Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan later joined as members of ECO.

The 14th Summit of the ECO is being chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The theme of the Summit is "Regional Economic Cooperation in the Aftermath of COVID-19.

During his address, the PM will share Pakistan's perspective on coronavirus challenges. He will also outline his vision for regional economic development in line with ECO's founding principles of promotion of trade and connectivity, Foreign Office said.

"Pakistan has been actively contributing towards advancement of the goals and objectives of ECO, including regional economic integration," FO said.