ASHKHABAD - The 2nd meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Interior Ministers on Combating Transnational Organized Crime, Terrorism & Drugs Trafficking has begun in Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan.
Interior Minister Besir Atalay will attend the meeting on behalf of Turkey.
Prior to the meeting, high-level officials from security departments of the member countries convened in the Turkmen capital city to discuss issues of fight against terrorism, weapon smuggling, illicit drug trafficking, organized crimes, corruption and illegal migration.
The participants agreed to create an information bank to speed up exchange of information among security departments of the member countries. They also proposed to form a relief mechanism in case of natural disasters.
A draft was written at the end of the convention. It is expected to be ratified by interior ministers at the meeting.
ECO is an intergovernmental regional organization established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey for the purpose of promoting economic, technical and cultural cooperation among the member states. It provides a platform to discuss ways to improve development and promote trade, and investment opportunities. The nations involved are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The common objective is to establish a single market for goods and services. ECO`s secretariat and cultural department are located in Tehran, its economic bureau is in Turkey and its scientific bureau is situated in Pakistan.
(UK-MS)