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Preparations are underway for the First ECO Forum on Sustainable Development in the city of Arkadag

29.09.2024 | 13:00 |
 Preparations are underway for the First ECO Forum on Sustainable Development in the city of Arkadag

On 27 September, the annual meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation (ECO) was held on the margins of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly under the chairmanship of the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

At the meeting, the sides discussed the current situation and results of interaction within the Organization, as well as outlined prospects for the development of economic cooperation.

In his speech, Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov emphasized the importance of enhancing cooperation and developing strategies taking into account contemporary realities, including in the field of social development, energy security, sustainable transport, environmental protection, digitalization, etc., as reported by the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In particular, Meredov proposed to develop an ECO Framework Agreement on Digital Technologies and Electronic Commerce to facilitate the transportation of goods and resources, the introduction of modern technologies, as well as to create an Information Portal, which will host data, statistics, prototypes of business projects to expand multilateral cooperation.

Advocating more coordinated transport diplomacy and cooperation with international organizations in this area, Turkmenistan aims to create interregional transport corridors and multimodal transport links with key ports and logistics hubs in Central Asia.

Energy cooperation is another important area. In this regard, Turkmenistan is ready to expand supplies of natural gas and electricity to ECO countries, Rashid Meredov said, expressing the opinion that the ECO Secretariat could take the leading role in addressing energy and water issues and consider the possibility of organizing a high-level meeting to coordinate the efforts of the member states in these areas.

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The Minister drew the attention of his colleagues to several initiatives that Turkmenistan is already actively implementing together with the ECO Secretariat. These are preparations for the First ECO Forum on Sustainable Development in the city of Arkadag, proclamation of the city of Mary as the ECO Tourism Capital for 2027, holding the 5th meeting of the Renewable Energy Group in Turkmenistan in 2024 and the establishment of ECO cross-border trade zones.

Afghanistan remains a priority theme for the region. Turkmenistan actively participates in multilateral efforts to support Afghanistan by providing strong economic and humanitarian assistance. Recently, on 11 September this year, large-scale energy, transport and infrastructure international projects were launched on the border of the two countries: the commissioning of the railway bridge of the Serhetabat-Turgundi steel highway; the laying of the foundation for the Şatlyk-1 gas compressor station for the TAPI gas pipeline and the start of construction of its Serhetabat-Herat section; the launch of the Serhetabat-Herat fiber-optic communication line; the start of construction of a warehouse complex in the dry port of Turgundi; the commissioning of the Nur-el-Jahad power plant in Herat province as part of the first phase of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan power transmission line.

ORIENT news

Photo: mfa.gov.tm

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