The Secretariat of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) organized a meeting to deliberate on the process for operationalization of the ECO Reinsurance Company (ERC) on February 6, 2023. The event, held in hybrid mode, was attended by delegates of the ERC’s Contracting Parties, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Republic of Tأ¼rkiye. The Representative of the ECO Trade and Development Bank (ECO-TDB) also participated in the meeting.
Addressing the participants, the ECO Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Mohsen Esperi apprised the efforts of the Secretariat to increase intra-regional trade in the ECO Region and its contribution to global trade through implementation of various ongoing initiatives in trade liberalization and trade facilitation in line with the ECO Vision 2025. In this regard, he alluded to the recent operationalization of the ECO Agreement on Protection and Promotion of Investment (APPI), and expressed optimism that the operationalization of ERC would be another step to bolster the prospects of growth and secure trade & investment in the region under the insurance cover of ERC.
The meeting discussed, at length, the various technical issues in Operationalization of the ERC, including payment of paid-in capital contribution, host country agreement, drafting a regulatory framework for the Company, etc. The meeting also noted the receipt of nominations for General Assembly and Board of Directors (BoD) of the ERC from all parties, concluding that fresh nominations, if any, will also be finalized soon. Moreover, it was agreed to complete the initial drafting of the regulatory framework with inputs from all stakeholders for the early operationalization of the ERC. The event further decided to schedule the 1st Meeting of the General Assembly of the ERC to be followed by the 1st BoD Meeting of the ERC at an early date, to ensure the adoption of regulations for functioning of the company within 60 days.
Early operationalization of ERC is expected to further boost the confidence of the investors and traders under the regional regulatory insurance/re-insurance framework for a more risk free trade and investment in the region.
