ECO (Economic Cooperation Organization) is a 

Eurasian an economic and political

economic inter-governmental organization which was founded in 1985 in Tehran by the leaders
of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. It provides a platform to discuss ways to improve development
and promote trade and investment opportunities. The ECO is an ad hoc organization under
the United Nations Charter. The objective is to establish a single market for goods and services,
much like the European Union. The ECO's secretariat and cultural department are located in Iran,
its economic bureau is in Turkey and its scientific bureau is situated in Pakistan.
The nature of the ECO is that it consists of predominantly Muslim-majority states as it is a trade
bloc for the Central Asian states connected to the Mediterranean through Turkey, to the Persian
Gulf via Iran, and to the Arabian Sea via Pakistan. The current framework of the ECO expresses
itself mostly in the form of bilateral agreements and arbitration mechanisms between individual
and fully sovereign member states. This makes the ECO similar to ASEAN in that it is an
organization that has its own offices and bureaucracy for implementation of trade amongst
sovereign member states.
Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is an inter-governmental regional organization
encompassing countries from Europe, Caucuses and Central Asia, Middle East and South Asia
with more than 460 million inhabitants and over 8 million square kilometers connecting Russia
to Persian Gulf and China to Europe. The overall objective of the Organization is the sustainable
economic development of its Member States and the Region as a whole.
Established as Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) in 1964 by Iran, Pakistan and
Turkey, the Organization was renamed as “ECO” in 1985.
In 1992 and in the aftermath of collapse of Soviet Union, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
and six former Soviet Republics, namely, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan also joined
the Organization, forming one of the biggest regional blocs in Asia and beyond.
Over the past three decades or so, the ECO Member States have been collaborating to accelerate
the pace of regional development through their common endeavors. Besides shared cultural and
historic affinities, they have been able to use the existing infrastructural and business links to
further fortify their resolve to transfer their hopes and aspirations into a tangible reality.
In March 2017, Heads of States/Government of the Member States in their 13th Summit in
Islamabad endorsed “ECO Vision 2025” where main directions of the ECO in the years to come
are drawn.
Secretary General
The Secretary General of the ECO is elected and appointed by the Council of Ministers from
among the candidates nominated by the Member States on the basis of qualifications, experience
and suitability as laid down in the Staff Regulations of the ECO Secretariat. As the Chief
Administrative Officer of the Organization, Secretary General is responsible for all activities of
the Organization. The Secretary General is discharging his duties over a non-renewable three-
year terms of office.
H.E. Dr. Hadi Soleimanpour (Iranian national) is ECO Secretary General. He is the 12 th
Secretary General of the ECO who started his tenure in August 2018.