Azerbaijan supports creating think tank of ECO states
By Sabina Idayatova
Azerbaijan supports the idea of creating a single think tank within the Organization of Economic Cooperation (ECO) member states, Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Economic Development Sevinj Hasanova said at the first Baku forum of economic think tanks held in Baku Business Center on Sept. 5.
The deputy minister stressed the urgency of enhancing cooperation between the think tanks within the organization and implementing joint research projects.
"Azerbaijan supports the idea of creating a single 'think tank'," she said. "We are ready to render state support for this process."
According to Hasanova, Azerbaijan has signed 10 agreements within ECO to boost cooperation and increase the intra-regional trade turnover.
The Baku forum was joined by think tank heads, experts and academics of ECO. The first international conference on 'Energy, regional integration and socio-economic development' is being held simultaneously with the event.
The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is an intergovernmental regional organization established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey for the purpose of promoting economic, technical and cultural cooperation among its member states. ECO is the successor organization of Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) which existed from 1964 to 1979.
In 1992, the organization was expanded to include seven new members, namely: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The date of the organization's expansion, November 28, is being observed as the ECO Day.
The ECO region is full of bright trading prospects. Despite its young age, ECO has developed into a thriving regional organization. Its international stature is growing. Nevertheless, the organization faces daunting challenges with respect to materializing its objectives. Most importantly, the region is lacking appropriate infrastructure and institutions which the organization is seeking to develop to make full use of the available resources in the region.
Over the past 12 years the member states have been collaborating to accelerate regional development through their joint endeavors. Besides shared cultural and historic affinities, they have been able to use the existing infrastructural and business links to further fortify their resolve to transfer their hopes and aspirations into a tangible reality. ECO has embarked on several projects in priority sectors of its cooperation including energy, trade, transportation, agriculture and drug control.