Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Reform Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar has said that Economic Cooperation Organization offers potential to enhance regional integration and connectivity as well as increase trade and commerce among member states. The Minister was talking to Secretary General ECO, Mr. Hadi Soleimanpour, who called on him in Islamabad on Thursday. Secretary Planning Zafar Hasan and senior officials were also present in the meeting. The Minister underlined the need for creating a mechanism for enhancing regional trade and identify new areas for future cooperation. The Minister called for focusing on strengthening coastal, rail and road connectivity as well as facilitation of trade and investment for increased regional commerce activities. The Minister said that ECO Vision-2025 is an excellent framework and the impetus provided by Islamabad Declaration in 2017 will help translate and realizing the objectives of ECO. During the meeting, ECO trade agreement was discussed in detail and it was emphasized that the trade potential needs to be fully exploited by overcoming trade barriers for mutual benefit of member states. The Minister also apprised about the functions of Planning Commission. Secretary General, ECO, said that Pakistan is a vibrant member and expressed optimism that the regional bloc will attain all its objectives through mutual cooperation among all member states.
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