The ‘2nd Meeting of Heads of Free Trade/Special Economic Zones of the ECO Member States’ was virtually hosted by the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on August 2, 2021 under the chairmanship of H.E. Mr. Atta Nasib, Director General of Afghanistan Investment Facilitation Unit (AIFU), office of the President of I.R of Afghanistan. The representatives of the ECO Member States, delegation of the ECO Secretariat headed by Deputy Secretary General, Dr. Yahya Akhlaqi, Secretary General of the ECO Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Adam Kula and the representatives of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) & Pardis Technology Park of Iran; participated in event.

The Midterm Meeting of the ECO Regional Planning Council (RPC) was held virtually on July 28, 2021. The Representatives of the ECO Member States and ECO Observers participated in the event. The ECO Secretary General, H.E. Dr. Hadi Soleimanpour and Chairman of the CPR, H.E. Mr. Ahmet Gurbanov, as well as ECO Deputies Secretary General, relevant Directors and Program Officers also attended the meeting.

On the invitation of the Government of Uzbekistan, the Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization, H.E. Dr. Hadi Soleimanpour visited Tashkent to attend an International Conference “Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity, Challenges and Opportunities held on July 14 – 16, 2021.

On the invitation of the Government of Turkmenistan, the Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization, H.E. Dr. Hadi Soleimanpour paid an official visit to Ashgabat from June 28–30, 2021.

On 29th June 2021, the Fifth Meeting of the National Statistical Offices of the ECO Member States/7th High Level Expert Group Meeting on Statistics was held virtually and hosted by Secretariat. The Meeting was attended by esteemed Delegations of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Republic of Turkey and Turkmenistan as well as ECO Secretariat.

On 24 June 2021 The Fourth ECO Energy Ministerial Meeting was held virtually and hosted by the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Meeting was attended by delegations of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Republic of Azerbaijan (host), Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Republic of Turkey, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan as well as the Secretary General of ECO along with other relevant officials of the ECO Secretariat. Turkish Cypriot State as an observer to ECO also has taken place at the event. Delegates from Energy Charter, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Islamic Development Bank attended the meeting.

On 22-23 June 2021 the 4th High Level Experts Group (HLEG) Meeting on Energy was held virtually and hosted by the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Delegates from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Republic of Azerbaijan (host), Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Turkey, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as, delegations from the ECO Secretariat, Energy Charter Secretariat and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) attended the meeting.

The 4th Meeting of the Heads of Anti-Corruption Organizations and Ombudsmen of the ECO Member States was hosted by the Republic of Uzbekistan on June 16 – 17, 2021. The event, organized in Tashkent, was attended by delegations of all Member States. The ECO Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Jandos Asanov and his delegation participated in the meeting virtually.

An online videoconference was held between the ECO Secretary General, H.E. Dr. Hadi Soleimanpour and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, H.E. Mr. Rashid Meredov on June 16, 2021, to explore certain ways and means of expanded multilateral cooperation, diverse interactions and increased economic activities in the ECO Region.

On the invitation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), H.E. Dr. Hadi Soleimanpour participated in the 2nd OIC Summit on Science and Technology. The Summit was held virtually on 16 June 2021 under the chairmanship of Government of United Arab Emirates to review the implementation of OIC STI Agenda 2026.