Iran Urges ECO to Lead Regional Economic Development

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called on the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) to play a “leading and effective” role in shaping the economic future of West Asia.

Speaking at the second Iran–ECO Conference in Tehran on Tuesday, Araghchi emphasized that while the ECO—comprising Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan—has made strides in regional cooperation, its potential remains largely untapped.

Araghchi highlighted efforts to develop the ECO’s Vision 2035, aimed at fostering sustainable development, regional security, and shared prosperity through collective action and coordinated strategies.

He stressed the importance of leveraging lessons from past initiatives, such as Vision 2025, to create realistic, measurable, and operational goals for the coming decade.

The foreign minister also criticized "Israel" and certain global powers for undermining international law and the post-World War II order, arguing that such unilateral actions underscore the need for strengthened multilateral mechanisms.

He also reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to actively contributing to regional and multilateral economic initiatives.

ECO, founded to promote trade and economic development, benefits from significant capacities in energy, trade, and transport, with Iran playing a central geopolitical and geoeconomic role.