Tashkent –September 23, 2025
On the sidelines of the 6th Meeting of the Attorneys/Prosecutors General of the ECO Member States, ECO Secretary General Dr. Asad M. Khan met with H.E. Mr. Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov, Minister of Agriculture of Uzbekistan, on strengthening regional cooperation in agriculture and addressing shared environmental and food security challenges.
The meeting underlined the importance of Uzbekistan’s “Transboundary Green Initiative”, proposed by the President of Uzbekistan during 17th Summit, as a response to common environmental pressures that directly affect regional food security. Uzbekistan’s recent measures in water conservation and agricultural automation were noted, emphasized the value of sharing expertise across the ECO region, for example, seed treatment technologies and practices from Iran and Pakistan.
The meeting highlighted Uzbekistan’s active role in advancing ECO’s agricultural agenda, recalling its leadership in hosting the 7th ECO Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and the 6th High-Level Experts Meeting in 2022. The discussion further stressed the need to ensure that regional agricultural priorities are well-reflected in the evolving Draft Strategic Goals of Economic Cooperation- 2035.
Both sides reaffirmed the importance of existing ECO mechanisms, including ECO-VECO and veterinary cooperation platforms, as instruments to strengthen collaboration. They also underlined the significance of the upcoming 8th ECO Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture, to be held on November 18, 2025 in Tehran, calling for active engagement and substantive contributions from all Member States.
Looking ahead, the two sides committed to advancing concrete proposals on carbon sequestration, including Uzbekistan’s plan to designate a national focal point within its Ministry of Agriculture to facilitate cooperation under ECO frameworks.
