TEHRAN (Iran News) – The 14th Summit of the Council of Heads of State of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) was held March 4 under the slogan “Regional Economic Cooperation in the Post-Pandemic Era”.

In connection with the pandemic, this Summit of the Council of Heads of ECO Member States was held in the format of an online videoconference. The summit considered topical issues of the development of interaction between the member states of this Organization in trade and economic, transport and communication, agricultural, energy, tourism, and other spheres.

The President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who took part in the work of Summit, congratulated the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on assuming the chairmanship in the ECO. He wished him great success in the effective fulfillment of this responsible task.

In his report, the President of Uzbekistan stressed that the Economic Cooperation Organization – is a vast region with a common history, religion, culture, and values.

According to him, from time immemorial, our friendly countries have been closely linked by an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust, trade and transport, and communication ties. The coronavirus pandemic, which negatively affected the global economy, showed how states are interdependent, and also clearly demonstrated the strengths and weaknesses sites of all countries.

In this regard, he called on all the member states of the Organization to continue close cooperation to strengthen the economic partnership.

Within the framework of the Summit, the President of Uzbekistan put forward a number of the following initiatives designed to raise the level of cooperation within the ECO:

– Lift trade and transport restrictions imposed by member countries of the Organization during the COVID-19 pandemic;

– To accelerate the development of the Trade Facilitation Agreement;

– To develop industrial cooperation;

– Expand transport corridors and increase the transit capacities of the countries of the region to increase mutual trade and investment;

– To develop transport corridors “Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Oman”, “Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-China” and others;

– Develop and adopt a new ECO Food Security Program;

– Create a common ECO tourism platform to promote the “Silk Road” brand;

In his speech, the President of Uzbekistan emphasized that the expansion of transport corridors and an increase in the transit capacity of the region will contribute to a sharp increase in mutual trade and investment. In this regard, he also spoke about the initiative of Uzbekistan to implement the “Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar” railway project, which is designed to play an important role in ensuring economic prosperity in the region.

The head of Uzbekistan expressed gratitude to the countries for supporting the initiative of Uzbekistan to create a “Regional Center for the Development of Transport and Communications”.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev invited the Summit participants to the High-Level International Conference entitled: “Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity. Challenges and Opportunities”, which will be held on July 15-16 in Uzbekistan.

In conclusion, the President of Uzbekistan emphasized that only through joint efforts, the ECO member states can in the future raise cooperation within the Organization to a new, higher level.