The Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of Turkey established the ECO Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECO CCI) in 1990 in accordance with Article 30 of the Treaty of Izmir, (1977). This was preceded by the signing of the statute of the ECO CCI by the Heads of National Chambers of the founding members in 1989 in Istanbul. Soon after, National Committees of ECO-CCI were also established by the National Chambers of the signatory Member States till 1993. It may be recalled that the RCD Chamber of Commerce and Industry existed from 1965-1984 which was subsequently replaced by the ECO-CCI.
AIMS
As per ECO-CCI’s statute, its aims and objectives are to facilitate trade and economic cooperation and promote closer commercial relations among the business communities of the Member States. It was also entrusted the responsibility of organizing joint trade fairs, exhibitions, meetings, conferences, seminars and other trade promotional activities with a view to further strengthening trade relations among the Member States.
STRUCTURE
National Committee:
Each member of the Chamber shall constitute its National Committee of 7 persons composed of a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, one Treasurer and four members within an organization that represents the commercial and industrial circles at the highest level such as the Union or Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Each National Committee shall also appoint a Director for the performance of its secretarial services.
Each National Committee may constitute its Consultative Assembly from the private and public sector on the basis of their contributions to furthering commercial, industrial and economic cooperation among the member countries.
The operating principles and procedures, the term of office, budget and the election of members and executives of the National Committees shall be subject to the legislation of the top level National organization such as the Union or Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of each country.
General Assembly:
General Assembly of the ECO Chamber is the highest organ of the ECO Chamber and is composed of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Treasurers and other members of the National Committees and of the Honorary Members acting as observers who will not have voting rights. The functions of the General Assembly are as follows:
The General Assembly determines policies to achieve the objectives set forth in Article-3 of these presets, makes recommendations and establishes necessary working groups.
- Examines and approves the budget and activity reports submitted by the Executive Board of the ECO Chamber at the annual meeting.
- Makes necessary amendments in presets and operating procedure upon the proposal of the Executive Board of the ECO Chamber.
- Appoints the Secretary General upon the recommendation of the Executive Board.
- Elects the Honorary Members nominated by the National Committees and proposed by the Executive Board.
- Performs other duties as assigned under the Statute.
Rotation and Language:
The Secretariat of the ECO Chamber will rotate among member countries every two years beginning with Turkey. However, the standard procedure may be reviewed if so desired by the General Assembly. The working language is English. National languages may also be used. In case National languages are used, translation services will be provided by respective Union of Chambers/Federations.
Since its establishment, six technical committees have been set up.
Budget:
The ECO Chamber shall have an independent budget and its accounts shall be kept by the General-Secretariat. Each National Committee of the ECO Chamber shall contribute equally to the budget that is fixed annually upon the proposal of the Executive Board and approval of the General Assembly of the ECO Chamber.
Activities:
The General Assembly and the Executive Committee held their 6th and 9th meetings, Executive and Specialized Committee Meetings are being held twice in a year and General Assembly Meetings once a year. These meetings are held on regular basis and the following ones have been held so far:
- 14th General Assembly and 20th Executive Committee Meeting of ECO-CCI along with Specialized Committees Meetings were held on 21-23 December, 2015 in Ankara
- 21st Executive Committee Meeting of ECO-CCI along with Specialized Committees Meetings have been held on 14-17 August, 2016 in Tehran
- 15th General Assembly and 22nd Executive Committee Meeting of ECO-CCI along with six Specialized Committees Meetings have been held on 1-3 March, 2017 in Islamabad
- 23rd Executive Committee Meeting of ECO-CCI along with Specialized Committees Meetings have been held in 15-17 November, 2017 in Ankara
- 16th General Assembly and 24th Executive Committee Meeting of ECO-CCI along with Specialized Committees Meetings have been held in March, 2018 in Tehran
- 19th General Assembly and 29th Executive Committee Meeting of ECO-CCI were held on March 72 2022 in virtual mode.
Top 50 Exporters/Suppliers of ECO Member States
- Profile of 50 Exporters/Suppliers of Azerbaijan
- Iranian Top Export Companies
- List of Kazakhstan (Exporters-Suppliers)
- List of Uzbek exporters of textile products
- Top 50 Exporters and Suppliers of ECO Member States – 2017-2018
National Chambers
Websites of the National Chambers of Commerce & Industry:
- Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce & Industry: www.acci.org.af
- Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Azerbaijan: www.chamber.az/index_en.html
- Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture: en.iccima.ir
- Chamber of Commerce of Kazakhstan: www.atameken.kz/en/departments/46-vneshnetorgovaya-palata-kazahstana
- Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic: http://www.en.cci.kg
- Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI): www.fpcci.org.pk
- Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Tajikistan: http://tpp.tj
- Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan: www.cci.gov.tm/index.php/en
- Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB): https://www.tobb.org.tr/Sayfalar/Eng/AnaSayfa.php
- Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan: http://www.chamber.uz/en/index
