Turkey Sees Eco As An Organization Which Will Contribute To Economic Stability And Welfare In Region

TEHRAN - Industry and Trade Minister Ali Coskun said on Tuesday that Turkey saw Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) as a multi-lateral economic cooperation platform which would contribute to economic stability and welfare in the region.
The first meeting of ECO Industry Ministers started in Iranian capital Tehran.
Speaking in the meeting, Coskun said that economic, commercial, social and political changes that occurred in the world due to globalization had increased importance of regional cooperation.
Coskun noted that ECO, which had been established to encourage economic, commercial, technical and cultural cooperation in order to ensure sustainable socioeconomic development in the region, had become a regional cooperation organization covering 7 million kilometers of an area in which 350 million people were living and having rich natural resources and human resources.
ECO had become one of the most important strategic belts in the world in regard to distribution of not only geopolitical, but also economic and political resources, Coskun stressed.
Coskun said that increasing trade among member countries and with other countries was of great importance.
All cooperation possibilities and industrial investment opportunities among regional countries should be seized, Coskun noted.
Coskun said that ECO Chamber of Commerce and Industry should work actively in order to establish and put into practice institutional mechanisms.
Therefore, member countries foresaw that ECO Chamber of Commerce and Industry should have a permanent secretariat, Coskun pointed out.
Coskun said that Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) had proposed on October 12, 2002 to host the permanent secretariat in ECO Ministerial Meeting held in Istanbul.
Reiterating TOBB's proposal, Coskun stressed that Turkey was ready to do anything to form and function the permanent secretariat and said that Turkey expected support of member countries.
Coskun said that the government had launched a comprehensive program to lift obstacles before Turkish and foreign investors, to better investment environment, and to offer attractive opportunities to direct foreign investors.
The government had put into practice many new laws to reach that target, Coskun stated.
Coskun noted that Turkey had become an attractive country for investments thanks to their efforts and invited investors in ECO member countries to Turkey.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) ministerial meeting would be held in Istanbul between June 2 and 6, 2004, Coskun pointed out.
Coskun said that Turkey was ready for every kind of cooperation to increase industrialization and competitive power of its region.
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami received Coskun and industry ministers of other participating countries.
ECO, which as established by Turkey, Iran and Pakistan, as a supra-governmental organization, has become an organization comprised of ten members as Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan joined the organization.
(BRC-AÖ) 27.01.2004