ECO Chamber of Commerce and Industry to analyze the ways of economic integration of the member-countries
On 5 March, Tehran will host a regular meeting of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Economic Cooperation organization (ECO-CCI).
The session, which will be chaired by the Pakistani side, will be attended by representatives of the CCI of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
On 3-4 March, the specialized committees of ECO-CCI will hold their sessions. These are committees on trade facilitation, transportation, tourism, arbitration, industry, investment and SMEs promotion and Women Entrepreneurs Council.
Currently, the trade turnover between the countries-members of the organization are estimated at US $ 638 billion. However, five years ago this figure exceeded 800 billion. Decline in trading activity is conditioned by the global decline in oil prices, on which tariffs for other natural resources heavily depend.
At the upcoming meetings, it is planned to discuss measures to stimulate the intraregional market and ways of gradual integration of the economies of the ECO member states.
The agenda will include the elimination of trade barriers, harmonization of legal regulation of trade and investment activities, the development of SMEs in the region, improving transport and communication links.
ECO was established in 1985 on the initiative of Iran, Pakistan and Turkey. In 1992, it was joined by seven other countries: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The CCI-ECO, which has been operating since 1990 and unites all the national chambers of Commerce of the member States, is the flagship economic structure of ECO.
