On invitation of the Foreign Minister of Republic of Azerbaijan, H.E. Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov, the Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), H.E. Dr. Hadi Soleimanpour visited Baku to participate in the 18th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit held in Baku on 25-26 October, 2019. The Summit was formally inaugurated by H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. At the Summit, Azerbaijan took over the presidency of the movement from Venezuela for a three-year term from 2019 to 2022.
Held under the theme “Upholding Bandung principles to ensure a concerted and adequate response to the challenges of the contemporary world”, the Summit was attended by representatives of nearly 160 countries including 25 Heads of State and Government as well as heads of various international organizations.
On the sidelines of the Summit, Dr. Hadi Soleimanpour held talks with Foreign Minister of Republic of Azerbaijan and met with the Secretary General of the Turkic Council. During his meeting with the Foreign Minister of Republic of Azerbaijan, H.E. Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov, the ECO Secretary General expressed ECO’s deep appreciation to the Government of Republic of Azerbaijan for the country’s continued support and contributions in the activities of the ECO. While mentioning H.E. Mammadyarov’s proposal on enhancing regional cooperation in tourism sector, Dr. Soleimanpour informed the Foreign Minister about the successful organization of the recent ECO Ministerial Meeting on Tourism held in Tajikistan. He also invited the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan to participate in the upcoming 24th ECO Council of Ministers scheduled to be held in Antalya on 9 November 2019. The Foreign Minister reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s support to the ECO and Secretary General’s efforts to achieving the regional cooperation in the diverse fields.
In the wake of the Comprehensive Work Programme signed between the ECO and Turkic Council in April 2019, the ECO Secretary General also met with the Secretary General of the Turkic Council, H.E. Mr. Baghdad Amreyev. The two sides shared their views and conclusion was made to initiate a joint project on Tourism shortly. Besides, the two Secretary Generals reassured their commitments in order to further strengthen cooperative relations between the two organizations in other areas of mutual interest.
