Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei says the 28th meeting of foreign ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) member countries will be convened in the holy city of Mashhad next week.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Baghaei said ministers and senior officials of the ECO member states, the heads of the ECO’s specialized regional organizations and the secretaries-general of some multilateral economic organizations will participate in the important meeting.
He added that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will chair the meeting.
He noted that the ECO plays a leading role in bolstering economic cooperation among the countries in the region.
Baghaei added that the ECO is one of the oldest economic cooperation arrangements among developing countries with the promotion of regional economic development on its agenda.
The Iranian spokesperson said the Islamic Republic will hold ECO rotating chairmanship in 2024.
The ECO meeting in Mashhad will be the second ministerial meeting of an international organization hosted by Iran in the past six months.
In June 2024, Iran hosted the 19th Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) meeting with the participation of foreign ministers and senior officials from 33 member countries.
The ECO is one of the oldest economic cooperation organizations in the developing world, dating back to the 1960s. The ten ECO member countries with an area of 8 million square kilometers and more than half a billion people have forged close interaction over the years.
Transportation and transit, trade and energy are the three priorities of the members for cooperation, but basic structures for cooperation in other economic areas have also been built among the members.
ECO summits are an opportunity for the member countries to exchange views on regional issues and international developments.