The 17th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO), attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has officially commenced in the city of Khankendi, Azerbaijan.
Hosted by President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, the summit is taking place at the Khankendi Congress Center, where the participating leaders first gathered for a family photo.
Upon his arrival at the venue, President Erdoğan was welcomed by President Aliyev. In the family photo were President Erdoğan and President Aliyev, along with President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, President Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan, President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan, and President Ersin Tatar of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
Also present during the photo session were Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov of Kazakhstan, Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar of the Afghan interim government, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs Rashid Meredov of Turkmenistan, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Sultan Al Jaber of the UAE, Secretary General of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) Kubanychbek Omuraliev, and Secretary General of the ECO Asad Majeed Khan.
Following the photo session, the leaders proceeded to the main hall for the summit held under the theme “New ECO Vision for a Sustainable and Climate Resilient Future”. Holding the summit in Khankendi, which was once used as the “capital” by the occupying regime in Karabakh, carries deep symbolic significance for Azerbaijan.
Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO)
The ECO is the successor of the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD), an initiative launched in 1964 in İstanbul by the heads of state and government of Türkiye, Iran, and Pakistan to promote regional economic collaboration. Following the 1979 revolution in Iran, the RCD had to suspend its activities.
However, in the early 1980s, the three founding countries revived their economic relations and decided to continue cooperation under a new name, while still using the RCD's legal foundation. The foundation of the ECO was thus laid in 1985. The ECO currently has ten member states—Türkiye, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan—with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) participating as an observer member. It holds Heads of State Summits every two years
In addition to the summit and periodic meetings at the level of foreign ministers, the Organisation holds regular meetings with the ministers of trade, transport, agriculture, energy, environment, health, industry, finance and economy, enabling the implementation of sectoral decisions and cooperation projects.
