Tehran – May 17, 2026
The 36th Meeting of the ECO Regional Planning Council (RPC) commenced on May 17, 2026, with a plenary session held at the ECO Secretariat in Tehran. Organized in hybrid format, the session was attended by delegations from ECO member states and observers, along with representatives from ECO Specialized Agencies, Regional Institutes and Affiliated Bodies.
In his opening remarks, ECO Secretary General Dr. Asad M. Khan emphasized that the RPC is an important institutional process, aimed at providing direction, assessing progress, reviewing implementation and helping shape the future strategy of the Organization, where the entire government of every member state comes together through the participation of relevant line ministries. He highlighted ECO’s key achievements over the past year and provided an update on major flagship initiatives, programs and projects, including finalization of the new vision document “Strategic Goals of Economic Cooperation – 2035,” as well as ECO reform process based on the High Level Committee recommendations.
He further informed the Council that, despite extraordinary regional and international challenges, the Secretariat continued its work in the past year, and successfully convened the Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Risk Reduction in Pakistan and the Tourism Ministerial Meeting in Shusha in the first half of 2026, while expecting to convene several important ministerial meetings, including on Environment in Uzbekistan, Industry in Tajikistan, Agriculture in Iran, Transport in Kazakhstan, Energy in Türkiye, and Information and Communication Technologies, Interior, as well as the 30th Council of Minister Meeting in Pakistan, in the second half of 2026. In this vein, he reaffirmed the Organization’s commitment to fostering regional economic cooperation amid evolving political and economic challenges.
Presiding over the plenary session, Dr. Muhammad Ali Talpur, Joint Chief Economist, Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives of Pakistan commended the ECO Secretariat and the Iranian Government for their efforts in keeping the Secretariat operational through challenging circumstances. He emphasized that the 5th ECO Ministerial Meeting on Commerce and Foreign Trade has provided a valuable window of opportunity for the full implementation and possible expansion of the ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA) in the coming years. He further expressed Pakistan’s strong support to regional cooperation in connectivity, disaster risk reduction, tourism, sustainable development and ICT.
The participating delegations in their statements underscored the importance of further strengthening ECO particularly in view of its growing relevance in the changing geo-political environment.
The RPC also observed one minute silence in solidarity and support with the Government and People of Islamic Republic Iran in the present challenging circumstances, while offering condolences over the loss of precious lives with the families of the victims.
Following the plenary session, sectoral committee meetings of the RPC commenced and will continue until May 20. The RPC, as a key decision-making forum of the Organization will discuss and endorse the annual Work Program and Calendar of Events of the ECO for 2026.
