At the invitation of the UNECE, UN-OHRLLS and UNESCAP the ECO Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Kashif Zaman participated at the High-Level Euro-Asia Regional Review Meeting of the Vienna Programme of Action for the Landlocked Developing Countries held in Bangkok on August 22-23, 2023 dedicated to the connectivity of landlocked countries.
In his statement, Mr. Zaman touched upon ECO’s policies, programs and projects for enhancement of connectivity of its Land Locked Member States in Central Asia and Caucasus. He noted that the East-West corridor of Almaty-Tehran–Istanbul offers a relatively suitable alternative solution to the geopolitical restrictions in the northern corridor and is already operational to meet some of the demands for transportation between China and Europe.
The ECO Deputy Secretary General underlined that, representing nearly half a billion people including those from 7 land-locked Member States, ECO shares all common values, targets and priorities envisaged in the Vienna Programme of Action and the SDGs. Consequently, most of the ECO projects in the areas of trade, transport, communication, energy and other areas of development are designed and implemented to meet the needs of its landlocked states.
