Pakistan to host 30th ECO Council of Ministers meeting on Nov 15-16

Why This Matters

Key context: <p>The 30th meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Council of Ministers will be held in Islamabad on Nov 15 and 16, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Saturday.</p> <p>The meeting will be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and attended by foreign ministers and heads of delegations from ECO member states, along with representatives of the organisation’s secretariat and subsidiary bodies, the FO said in a statement.</p> <figure class='media w-full w-full media-- media--embed media--uneven media--tweet' data-original-src='https://x.com/ForeignOfficePk/status/2121459024474615839'> <div class='media__item media__item--twitter '><span> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <a href="https://twitter.com/ForeignOfficePk/status/2121459024474615839"></a> </blockquote> </span></div> </figure> <p>The ministerial meeting will be preceded by a meeting of senior officials of ECO member states, which will review the organisation’s activities and programmes, assess the work of its subsidiary bodies and finalise the agenda and draft outcome documents for consideration by the ministers.</p> <p>Pakistan, which holds the ECO chairmanship for 2026-27, will seek to advance the organisation’s objectives under the theme “Reviving Regionalism for a Resilient ECO”, the FO said.</p> <p>It said Pakistan’s chairmanship would focus on strengthening regional connectivity and integration, deepening partnerships and promoting collective efforts for economic prosperity and sustainable development.</p> <p>The chairmanship would also provide an opportunity to strengthen the ECO’s role as a platform for regional cooperation, dialogue and economic collaboration, it added.</p> <p>According to the FO, Pakistan also aims to position itself as a regional connectivity hub, facilitate logistics supply chains and help shape the agenda for regional trade.</p> <p>The efforts would help unlock the region’s economic potential and translate the benefits of regional cooperation into tangible improvements in the lives of people in ECO member states, the statement said.</p> <p>Last month DPM Dar directed relevant authorities to ensure flawless coordination and timely preparations for the ECO meeting, underscoring the deep importance Pakistan attaches to the regional bloc.</p> <p>The 17th ECO Summit was<a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1921869"> held</a> in Azerbaijan’s Khankendi on July 3-4, 2025, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif leading Pakistan’s delegation. The summit brought together heads of state and government from member countries to discuss regional cooperation and economic integration.</p> <p>During the summit, Pakistan called for enhanced intra-regional trade, transport connectivity, energy cooperation and sustainable development, while reaffirming its commitment to the ECO Vision 2025.</p> This development from dawn.com highlights ongoing changes in the sector.