Dushanbe, 22 September 2026
The 3rd High-Level Experts Group (HLEG) Meeting on Industry was convened in Dushanbe today. The Meeting brought together delegates from across the ECO region, representatives of ECO-RISCAM, WIPO and UNIDO, and the ECO Secretariat delegation led by the Deputy Secretary General.
The Meeting was chaired by H.E. Mr. Aziz Nazar Savzali, Deputy Minister of Industry and New Technologies of the Republic of Tajikistan. In his opening remarks, the Chair welcomed the participants and commended the ECO Secretariat for its efforts in organizing the session. He underlined that the primary mandate of the HLEG is to discuss and prepare the substantive documents for the 4th ECO Ministerial Meeting on Industry, which will convene tomorrow, September 23, 2026.
The participants engaged in extensive deliberations and reviewed the progress in industrial cooperation within the ECO framework and identified concrete measures to strengthen collaboration. The meeting finalized the draft agenda, draft report, and the draft Dushanbe Declaration for submission to the Ministerial Meeting for adoption.
The Dushanbe Declaration sets out a forward-looking agenda for joint action in nanotechnology cooperation, protection of industrial property rights, development of MSMEs and entrepreneurship, enhanced engagement of the private sector, and stronger partnerships with international organizations. It also proposes measures to address challenges related to divergent industrial capacities, regulatory gaps, and insufficient regional coordination.
The Meeting concluded with sincere thanks to the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies of the Republic of Tajikistan for its warm hospitality and excellent arrangements.
