The 4th Meeting of the Heads of Anti-Corruption Organizations and Ombudsmen of the ECO Member States was hosted by the Republic of Uzbekistan on June 16 ,“ 17, 2021. The event, organized in Tashkent, was attended by delegations of all Member States. The ECO Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Jandos Asanov and his delegation participated in the meeting virtually.
While inaugurating the meeting the Chairperson of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Uzbekistan Her Excellency Ms. Tanzila Nurbaeva welcomed the event’s participants. She informed the meeting about the work that is being carried out in Uzbekistan on uprooting corruption.
Representing the ECO Secretariat Ambassador Asanov felicitated the Republic of Uzbekistan for hosting this important meeting, extending his warm gratitude to the Chairperson of the country’s Senate for attending and opening the meeting. He commended the Uzbekistan’s notable endeavours against corruption under the patronage and leadership of the honourable President of Uzbekistan His Excellency Mr. Shavkat Mirziyoev, acknowledging the country’s excellent contributions to secure ECO’s aims and objectives towards sustainable development in the region. Relevantly, J. Asanov recalled the views of President Mirziyoev expressed during the 14th ECO Summit that emphasized, inter alia, on the significance of the region’s transit-transport sector, conveying ECO’s full support and cooperation to Uzbekistan in all its efforts for regional progress and prosperity.
During the Meeting, the Member States agreed to: (i) expedite national procedures for signing/ratification of the Statute of the ECO Regional Center for Cooperation of Anti-corruption Agencies and Ombudsmen (RCCACO) and its early Operationalization as an effective and useful forum to achieve desired results against corruption as well as other forms offinancial crimes; (ii) organize training events concerning fight against corruption on regular basis; (iii) create a smart regional structure for transparency in the fight against corruption; (iv) organize the first Meeting of the General Assembly of the States Parties to RCCACO.
The Member States also discussed various ways and means of strengthening mutual cooperation, as well as explored the possibilities for exchange of relevant information/experiences and sharing best practices on fight against corruption. The participants also stressed for a speedy establishment of judicial Legal Assistance Mechanism and mandated the ECO Secretariat to prepare Organizational Chart of the Secretariat of the envisaged Regional Center in consultation with the State Parties to the Regional Center to be submitted to the First Meeting of the General Assembly of the Regional Center for approval.
