On July 6, 2022, the ECO Secretary General H.E. Ambassador Khusrav Noziri, who is in Tashkent to attend 7th ECO Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture, met with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, H.E. Mr. Umurzakov Sardor Uktamovich.
The ECO Secretary General, while appreciating Uzbekistan’s increased role in the ECO affairs, re-acknowledged the importance of country’s initiative concerning the proclamation of 2022 as the Year of Strengthening Connectivity. He congratulated Uzbekistan for successfully organizing the 7th ECO Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture, expressing optimism that the event’s outcomes would contribute to the further development of Organization’s policy on agriculture and food security in the region. Moreover, he emphasized the significance of some ECO legal mechanisms, including the Agreement on Promotion and Protection of Investment (APPI) and Transit Transport Framework Agreement (TTFA), adding that Turkmenistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan are expected to sign the TTFA during the 12th Ministerial Meeting on Transport scheduled to be organized in January 2023.
The Secretary General also updated the Honourable Deputy Prime Minster on recommendations of the recently-held ECO Brainstorming Session, as well as establishment of the Working Group proposed by H.E. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to evaluate the performance of the Organization. In addition, he requested exact dates of the meetings to be hosted by Uzbekistan as per ECO Calendar of Events for 2022.
The Honourable Deputy Prime Minister appeared satisfactorily pleased on ECO’s overall progress being made for the collective welfare and wellbeing of the region. He informed the Secretary General about Uzbekistan’s current activities, including their working on a railway network to be constructed between Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, as well as preparations for next ECO Summit and COM meetings. He also talked about the COVID consequences and related food security issues in Uzbekistan. Furthermore, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that Uzbekistan is in process of concluding necessary documents for the establishment of Regional Center for Trade Innovation (RCTI) that, he assured, will soon be shared with the ECO Secretariat. Underling the importance of Business Forum and the event’s expected Organization in Uzbekistan on the ECO Summit’s sidelines; he showed his personal interest to participate in the event. The dates and venues of the events to be hosted by Uzbekistan will be communicated to the ECO Secretariat shortly, the Deputy Prime Minister affirmed.
