Economic Cooperation Organization

Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is a group of member countries that work together to enhance each other's socio-economic growth. Iran, Turkey, and Pakistan first started the inter-governmental effort by the name of Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) in 1964. However, it was renamed in 1985 and included a few more countries as members.

The Economic Cooperation Organization structure is designed to limit or eliminate trade barriers between member countries, promote the integration of ECO members with the global market, and further solidify the ties between member countries and improve intra-trade. These steps ensure that the resource and heritage-rich Eurasian region's potential is utilized to its fullest.

The Economic Cooperation Organization is a group of member countries grouped to promote cultural, economic, and technical growth and cooperation among these countries.

The main objectives of the ECO are to ensure that regional trade and investment are improved, that logistical efficiency is constantly evolving, and that sustainable economic development is promoted within the ECO region and globally.

While globalization across the globe has spread efficiently, grouping countries within the Eurasian region helps the intergovernmental body to leverage the collective strengths of the countries of these regions. As a result, all members can benefit from the stability and growth of each other's resources.

The Economic Cooperation Organization headquarters concentrates on the sectors in which their member countries are well-versed. The major sectors that facilitate trade within the ECO region and outside are agriculture, energy, tourism, environment, and industries.

Moreover, to ensure that trade within the region is seamless, Eco has taken several steps, such as reducing tariffs and eliminating barriers to trade within the region. They also constantly work towards developing logistical support to ensure goods are easily traded by helping with the development of rail, maritime routes, and roadways.

In addition to improvement in trade, the ECO also looks to support human development by investing in healthcare projects, poverty elimination projects, and promoting education within the region.

In 1964, ECO was initially founded as the Regional Cooperation for Development or RCD by Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. After 21 years of strengthening ties with member countries and the countries sharing borders with them, the Economic Cooperation Organization was formed in 1985.

Hence, on 28th November 1985, seven new member countries were part of the ECO. They were Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. 28th November of each year is celebrated as the ECO day among members.

This organization, operating out of the Eurasian region, has over 460 million in population spans in excess of 8 million square kilometers of land. It has a fantastic connection with the rest of the globe.

The objectives of the Economic Cooperation Organization headquarters in Tehran roll our actions to ensure that the potential and resources of the region are utilized to their fullest potential. A few of the most prominent objectives of ECO are:

• The foremost objective is to ensure that the barriers to trade within the region are removed. Therefore, intra-region trade is promoted on a consistent basis.
• Development of logistical support that links member nations and the rest of the world as well.
• Through trade and human development, ECO looks to multifold the sustainable economic development of these countries.
• ECO looks to ensure that there is absolute equality and the same level of advantage is provided to every sovereign state.
• It urges its member states to closely tie their national economic policies with the best interests of ECO as far as possible to ensure collective growth.
• ECO also curates different endeavors that are common for member countries to grow harmoniously.
• Maximize the utilization of the industrial and agricultural resources within the ECO region.

The members who are a part of the Economic Cooperation Organization structure and growth are:

• Afghanistan
• Azerbaijan
• Iran
• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstan
• Pakistan
• Tajikistan
• Turkey
• Turkmenistan
• Uzbekistan

Now that the basics and related factors are out of the way, it is time to address the practicality and real-life application part of the concept. The examples below shall help with these aspects.

Example #1

Let us say that ECO stakeholders meet in Baku, Azerbaijan, for their annual summit to discuss the progress in the last year and the plans for the future. During discussions, a representative from one of the countries proposed that the ECO region must invest and use the inevitable power of AI (Artificial Intelligence).

After discussions regarding funding and related matters, the council decided that the ECO region should use expert advice on AI and machine learning. The developments shall be common property of ECO nations, barring security concerns.

As a result, they can make use of technology to improve their trade and maximize their import and export quotient as well.

Example #2

Fariddin Nasiyev, the Ambassador of Uzbekistan, met with the president of the Institute of Culture of the ECO at the Economic Cooperation Organization headquarters to discuss joint cultural events and cooperation development with his country.

The two leaders of the ECO explored the opportunity of collaboration and joint events with countries within the ECO region to improve understanding between them. Moreover, Uzbekistan was declared the tourism capital within the ECO region for 2024.

The fact that the Economic Cooperation Organization has managed to keep war-torn and economically struggling nations together and promoted growth and extended support during tough times has been an outstanding achievement. However, the points below specify a few other points as well.

• The reduction of trade tariffs and curating trade policies in collaboration with different governments has been one of the most significant achievements of the ECO. The ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA) signed in 2003 is an example of that.
• ECO has been a critical factor in the development of energy transit methods and oil and gas exploration within the region. The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan oil pipeline is an excellent example of these explorations.
• Expanding trade opportunities and developing relationships with different governments would account for nothing if the required logistical support is not present. Therefore, the ECO has been instrumental in the development of rail, road, and maritime transportation of goods within and outside the ECO region.
• Apart from trade and development in monetary terms, ECO has also placed significant impetus on the human development aspect as well. Their education, healthcare, and poverty alleviation projects have helped millions of families prosper.

Despite the various advantages mentioned in the article, there are a few challenges as well. They are:

• The lack of infrastructure in most member countries slows down the process of trade and development.
• When a government looks to improve relationships within its region and outside of it, there are a specific few organizations and processes that help them achieve that goal. The ECO region has multiple countries where this aspect needs a lot of development.
• Underutilization of the resources produced within the region leads to many countries not achieving their maximum potential or a range of exports and imports that are considered significant.