The Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization, H.E. Ambassador Khusrav NOZIRI, met with the Ambassador of Kingdom of Thailand to Iran, H.E. Mr. Worawoot Pongprapapant, on 5th May, 2022 at the Royal Thai Embassy in Tehran. The Ambassador of Thailand extended a very warm welcome to the ECO Secretary General on visiting the Royal Thai Embassy.
At the outset, the ECO Secretary General signed the visitor's book that was especially opened in connection with the Coronation Day of Thailand which marks the coronation anniversary of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. H.E. Ambassador NOZIRI congratulated the Ambassador of Kingdom of Thailand on the occasion of Coronation Day.
During the meeting, the ECO Secretary General briefed H.E. Worawoot Pongprapapant about the background of the Economic Cooperation Organization and its activities in various spheres including trade, transport, agriculture, energy, social welfare, tourism, environment and drugs control. The meeting focused on ASEAN-ECO cooperation with a view to exploring possibilities of revitalizing and enriching mutually beneficial collaboration of the two organizations. The Secretary General of the ECO highlighted the possible role of Ambassador of Thailand in enhancing the cooperative relations of ECO and ASEAN as the current Chairman of the ASEAN Tehran Committee. Referring to the importance attached by the ECO to ASEAN, the ECO Secretary General described a brief history of cooperative relationship between the two organizations.
The Secretary General of the ECO enlighten the Thai Ambassador that the visit of the ASEAN Secretary General to Tehran in 1995 paved the way for formalizing contacts at the level of the Secretaries-General and subsequently the 1st ASEAN-ECO Joint Ministerial Meeting was held on the sidelines of the 50th UNGA session in September 1995 in New York. The signing of the MoU between the two organizations in 2006 marked another significant development in consolidating institutionalized ASEAN-ECO cooperation. The Secretary General informed the Ambassador that so far 14 ASEAN-ECO Joint Ministerial Meetings have been organized and in the course of these meetings the leadership of the two regions has continuously stressed upon strengthening and expanding the ongoing cooperation.
The Ambassador of Thailand thanked H.E. NOZIRI on the detailed briefing and expressed his gratitude to the ECO Secretary General for attaching considerable importance to enhancing the ECO- ASEAN cooperative relations in the coming years. He expressed his readiness to support the initiative of the Secretary General to revitalizing the ASEAN-ECO joint Ministerial Meeting and the implementation of the MoU between the two organizations. The two sides also agreed to continue mutual consultations in the areas of common interest including ECO-ASEAN cooperation in the coming period.
