The newly appointed ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the Islamic Republic of Iran, H.E. Mr. Rahim Hayat Qureshi presented his letter of credence to the ECO Secretary General, H.E. Dr. Hadi Soleimanpour at the ECO Secretariat on 27 February, 2020. At the very outset, the Secretary General extended warm felicitations to the visiting ambassador for assuming the ambassadorship and expressed his belief that appointment of Ambassador Qureshi as a permanent representative would be proved an asset for the ECO.
During the meeting, the Secretary General briefed the ambassador of Pakistan about the key activities of ECO in various spheres. The ECO Secretary General also apprised the visiting dignitary about the six priority areas of the ECO Vision 2025 including Trade, Transport and Connectivity, Energy, Tourism, Economic Growth as well as Social Welfare and Environment.
The ECO Secretary General expressed his gratitude to the ambassador for the invaluable contributions made by Pakistan, as a founding member of the ECO, towards the accomplishment of the strategic objective and goals of the organization. He also highlighted the lead role played by Pakistan in establishing ECO’s financial institutions including the ECO Trade Development Bank and the ECO Reinsurance Company as well as the country’s continued support and rigorous facilitation in the ongoing implementation process of the ECO trade Agreement (ECOTA) and Transit Transport Framework Agreement (TTFA). The Secretary General also briefed the ambassador about his successful visit of Pakistan in March 2019. He informed Mr. Qureshi about the outcome of his meetings with the President of Pakistan, H.E. Dr. Arif Alvi, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, H.E. Mr. Imran Khan, Minister for Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mr. Shah Mehmood Qureshi and various other key Ministers of the country. He specifically appreciated the vision of the Prime Minister for regionalism.
Ambassador Qureshi, while underling the significance of ECO as regional economic organization in order to enhance commercial activities in the region, thanked the Secretary General for his valuable briefing. He mentioned that ECO is an essential component of foreign policy of Pakistan and the country always maintained its traditional support and enduring commitment in pursuit of regional cooperation among ECO member states. He appreciated the Secretary General’s approach to evolve ECO into a project oriented organization and offered his full support towards the achievement of the objectives and goals of the organization as enshrined in the Treaty of Izmir and ECO Vision 2025. In the end of the meeting the ambassador of Pakistan conveyed greetings and well wishes of the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, H.E. Shah Mehmood Queshi, to the Secretary General and assured his resolve to work together for securing socio-economic development and prosperity in the region.
