Print Print edition: 2026-11-15

ECO FMs meeting from today: Pakistan to assume ECO chairmanship

Published November 15, 2026 Updated November 15, 2026 02:35am

2 min

By Naveed Siddiqui

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will assume the chairmanship of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) for 2026-27 as Islamabad hosts the 30th meeting of the ECO Council of Foreign Ministers on November 15-16, focusing on strengthening regional connectivity, trade integration and economic cooperation among member states.

The meeting will be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister (DPM/FM) Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar and attended by foreign ministers and heads of delegations of ECO member states, along with representatives of the ECO Secretariat and its subsidiary bodies.

The ministerial meeting will be preceded by a meeting of senior officials (SOM) of ECO member states, which will review the organisation’s activities and programmes, assess the work of its subsidiary bodies, and finalise the agenda and draft outcome documents for consideration by the ministers during the Council of Ministers (COM) meeting.

As chair of the ECO for 2026-27, Pakistan will seek to advance the organisation’s objectives under the theme “Reviving Regionalism for a Resilient ECO”. Pakistan’s chairmanship will focus on strengthening regional connectivity, deepening regional integration, reinforcing regional partnerships, and promoting collective efforts towards greater prosperity, sustainable development, and a more integrated and resilient ECO region.

This will also provide an opportunity to reinvigorate the ECO’s role as an effective platform for regional cooperation, dialogue and economic collaboration.

Pakistan’s chairmanship of the ECO offers an opportunity to position the country as a regional connectivity hub, a facilitator of logistics and supply chains, and an agenda-setter for regional trade. These efforts will help unlock the region’s considerable economic potential and ensure that the benefits of regional cooperation translate into tangible improvements in the lives of people across ECO member states.

Meanwhile, Tahsin Ertu?rulo?lu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, arrived in Islamabad to participate in the 30th ECO Council of Ministers meeting. Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received him at the airport.

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