ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will host the 30th meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Council of Ministers in Islamabad on Sunday and Monday, November 15 and 16, with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar in the chair. Foreign ministers and heads of delegation from ECO member states, along with officials of the ECO Secretariat and its specialised bodies, are expected to take part.
A meeting of senior officials from member countries comes first. According to Radio Pakistan, the officials will review the organisation’s programmes and the work of its subsidiary bodies, and settle the agenda and draft outcome documents that the ministers will then consider.
Pakistan holds the ECO chair for 2026-27 and has chosen the theme “Reviving Regionalism for a Resilient ECO”. In a statement on Saturday, the Foreign Office said the chairmanship would concentrate on strengthening regional connectivity and deepening regional integration. It described the meeting as a chance to present Pakistan as a regional connectivity hub, a facilitator of logistics and supply chains, and an agenda-setter for regional trade.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is among the ministers expected in Islamabad, according to media reports, which said he is likely to hold bilateral meetings with Pakistani leaders on the sidelines. Mr Dar has chaired several preparatory sessions in recent weeks and spoke with Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov by telephone on Friday, when the two discussed the upcoming meeting.
Background
ECO grew out of the Regional Cooperation for Development, which Pakistan, Iran and Türkiye launched in 1964. It took its current name in 1985, and in the early 1990s it expanded to ten members by adding Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The bloc aims to promote economic development through cooperation in trade, transport, energy and investment.
Pakistan was elected to chair the Council of Ministers for the 2026-27 term. The Islamabad session follows a busy stretch of diplomacy, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s meetings with the Turkish President and other leaders at COP31 earlier this week. Islamabad is also due to host the SCO Council of Heads of State meeting in 2027, and Mr Dar on Friday stressed close coordination in preparing for both events.
What This Means for Pakistan
The ECO region brings together Pakistan’s western and northern neighbours, including several landlocked Central Asian states that need sea access. Pakistan’s ports and road links give it a natural role as a transit route for their trade, which could mean more cargo, transport business and jobs at home. Chairing the council lets Pakistan shape the bloc’s agenda on these connectivity projects for the year ahead.
The ministers are expected to adopt the outcome documents prepared by senior officials when the session concludes on Monday.
Sources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Radio Pakistan, Arab News
Featured image: Photo: Humza Ahmed / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
