Dar stresses effective implementation of ECO trade agreement

MASHHAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar urged the ECO member states to ensure effective implementation of the Economic Cooperation Organisation Trade Agreement (ECOTA) to help strengthen regional security and economic prosperity through mutually beneficial intra-regional trade.

Addressing the 28th Meeting of ECO Council of Ministers (COM) here, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar on Tuesday expressed concern over the ECO trade saying, “It is a matter of great concern that the ECO region, comprising an area of 8 million square kilometres and half a billion population has intra-regional trade of, unfortunately, less than 8pc of region’s aggregate, and only about 2pc in global trade, which is in stark contrast to EU and ASEAN.”

He said the Economic Cooperation Organisation Trade Agreement was a landmark intra-regional preferential trade agreement conceptualized to create amenable and conducive conditions for the sustainable economic development of the region. “ECOTA primarily aims to lower tariffs in our region over an agreed timeframe and provides an excellent platform for the promotion of our region’s economic interests by trade promotion and facilitation. Despite a considerable period since its inception, it is yet to see day the light of implementation. So far, only five member states have signed the agreement,” he added.

Dar said Pakistan attached great importance to ECOTA’s early implementation and urged all member states to take a broader and more holistic view of the matter. The deputy prime minister told the gathering that ECO Vision 2025”, adopted during the 13th ECO Summit in Islamabad in 2017 was a key document that guided towards increasing intra-regional trade, strengthening regional connectivity and operationalizing the major ECO transport corridors. He urged the member states to redefine the targets and priorities keeping in view the evolving regional and World Order.

Earlier, the deputy prime minister started his remarks by strongly condemning the Israeli genocide in Gaza and its aggression in Lebanon. Later, Dar met the Secretary-General of ECO Dr Asad Majeed, on the sidelines of the 28th ECO Ministerial Meeting. They discussed the important role played by ECO in fostering regional cooperation by strengthening trade linkages, regional connectivity and people-to-people contacts. Later, Dar departed after concluding his two-day visit to Iran.