World · ECO regional cooperationIslamabad ECO meeting: Ministers to consider 2035 economic goalsWritten November 15, 2026 at 9:54 AM UTCWatchTranscript0:00Islamabad ECO meeting.0:02Ministers to consider20305 economic goals.0:07Pakistan wants to turn itself into a regional hub for trade and supply chains.0:11Its chairmanship of a ten country economic bloc puts cross border business at the0:15center of regional talks.0:17Pakistan says the aim is to turn closer cooperation into improvements in people's0:21lives.0:22What ministers will approve and how those commitments will be carried out is still0:26unresolved.0:27The Economic Cooperation Organization, known as ECO, has scheduled its30 th Council0:32of Ministers gathering for November15 and16 th.0:35Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammed Ishaq Dar is due to0:39chair it in Islamabad, but the two-day program gives senior officials and ministers0:44separate jobs.0:45Senior officials are scheduled to meet on November15 th.0:47They'll review ECO's activities and programs and assess its subsidiary bodies.0:51They'll also prepare the agenda and draft outcomes for the Council of Ministers0:54session on November16 th.0:56Two proposed documents give those preparations a longer horizon.0:59One sets out strategic goals of economic cooperation for2035 .1:03The other is an Islamabad communique, a proposed joint statement.1:07Preparatory material also refers to the tenth preparatory committee meeting, held on1:11October26 ahead of this gathering.1:13The preparatory folder calls the economic goals a finalized draft.1:17Ministers still have to consider it.1:18The Islamabad Komunique also appears as a draft, and the updated meeting folder1:23describes both meeting agendas as drafts updated on November11 th.1:27Pakistan holds the ECO chairmanship for twenty twenty-six and twenty twenty-seven.1:31Its theme is reviving regionalism for a resilient ECO.1:34The Foreign Office says Pakistan wants stronger regional connections, deeper1:38economic integration, and closer partnerships with prosperity and sustainable1:42development as the intended results.1:43Subscribe to this channel to follow what ECO ministers approve and how those1:47commitments develop.1:48ECO has ten members: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,1:52Pakistan, Tajikistan, Titrike, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.1:56Together they span South and West Asia, the Caucasus and Central Asia.2:00That geography explains the focus on moving goods and doing business across borders.2:04C.2:04Urkie, Iran and Pakistan founded ECO in nineteen eighty five, seven more countries2:10joined on November twenty-eighth, nineteen ninety-two.2:13Expanding trade and removing regional trade barriers have long been its objectives.2:17The previous Council of Ministers met online on November28,2025 , under Kazakhstan's2:22chairmanship, with delegations from all ten members participating.2:26Trade ministers also met in Istanbul in November2025 , their first such gathering2:30in14 years.2:32Pakistan now wants its chairmanship to help shape the regional trade agenda and make2:36the country a facilitator of logistics and supply chains.2:38Dar welcomed arriving delegates and said he looked forward to productive discussions2:42on shared priorities.2:44In October, he directed authorities to coordinate preparations and have arrangements2:47ready on time for the meeting.2:49Foreign ministers and delegation heads from member countries are expected to2:52participate.2:52Representatives of the ECO Secretariat and its subsidiary bodies are also expected.2:57Preparations extend beyond the capital, and eight member ETO delegation arrived in3:01Lahore on November14.3:03Northern Cyprus's foreign minister, Tassin Ertuguloglu, arrived in Islamabad on3:08November14 to attend.3:09Pakistan's foreign ministry officials received him at the airport.3:12He joins a gathering chaired by Dar, representing a government that holds observer3:16status in ECO.3:17ECO lists that observer as the Turkish Cypriot state, a status it has held since3:22October2012 .3:23The organization has ten member countries.3:26Observer participation brings other representatives into the discussions while3:29leaving that membership unchanged.3:31Pakistan says easier logistics and stronger supply chains should help unlock the3:35region's economic potential.3:37For businesses, the practical test is whether cooperation makes moving goods across3:41borders easier.3:42For people across the region, it's whether those changes improve daily life.3:46The November16 th ministerial session is the next decision point.3:49Ministers are due to consider the work prepared by senior officials, including the3:53draft long term goals and Islamabad Komunik.3:56Specific commitments and arrangements for carrying them out depend on what ministers4:00approve.Read the articleStory timelineHeyDex
