The Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), Ambassador Halil Ibrahim Akca, represented the Organization in the 7th Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process held on 1st of December 2017 in Baku. The Conference was inaugurated by H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, Honourable President of Republic of Azerbaijan.
In his statement delivered during the Conference, the Secretary General reassured the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process of full support of the ECO as has been the case since inception of the Process. The Secretary General also stressed the importance of connectivity towards regional prosperity and asserted that any attempt for wider connectivity within Asia cannot be successful unless Afghanistan is stable and peaceful as, geographically, it is at the heart of the Asia.
Baku Declaration was adopted at the end of the Conference.
The ECO Secretary General also held meeting with H.E. Mr. Gong Jianwei, Executive Director-Designate of the CICA (Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia) where two sides discussed issues of common interest. The Secretary General congratulated him on his election and stressed on the need to synergize the efforts of ECO and CICA Secretariats in the areas of transport, environment and tourism. The Secretary General also held an informal meeting with H.E. Mr. Çinar Aldemir, the outgoing Executive Director of CICA and lauded his efforts for making CICA an effective forum for promoting dialogue and cooperation in the region.
