Addressing the Summit, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev laid special emphasis on mutual cooperation among the ECO countries in the field of infrastructure, connectivity, and transportation for the development and the progress of the region.
President Ilham Aliyev thanked Pakistan for its support on the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh.
In his speech at the 13th ECO Summit, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said with more understanding among the heads of State and Governments, we would be able to take longer strides in advancing the programmes and activities of the Organization.
He said ECO can play a vital role in building the future of economy of our region and for this to happen, he said the ECO needs restructuring.
He said 21st century is the era of emerging economy of Asia. He said economic activities are transferring from the West to East.
Hassan Rouhani said Iran is ready to play its role in solidifying the Economic Cooperation Organization.
He said the holding of 13th ECO Summit in Pakistan is a good omen and it will help implement long terms plans of the Organization.
Addressing the Summit, Secretary General Halil Ibrahim congratulated Prime Minister on his election as Chairman of the Summit and hoped that under his able leadership, the ECO will make further progress.
Highlighting overall profile of the ECO, Halil Ibrahim said the population of ECO region has reached 471 million and its GDP has cross one trillion dollars. He said intra-trade of the region has improved to 8.7 percent in 2015 to 5.3 percent in 2000.
