Iran Suggests Establishing ECOPOL

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian proposed the creation of a joint police body under the Economic Cooperation Organization [ECO], called ECOPOL, to enhance regional security and coordination among the member states.

Addressing the 4th meeting of the Interior Ministers of ECO, held in Tehran on Tuesday, Pezeshkian said the gathering, held after a long interval, reflects the renewed determination of member countries to expand cooperation and coordination in key areas of mutual interest.

The Iranian president noted that interior ministries play a crucial role not only in their specific areas of responsibility but also in providing the essential infrastructure of economic development — namely, security and stability.

Pezeshkian emphasized that success in regional economic cooperation requires strong, predictable, stable, and resilient frameworks.

Interior ministries, he said, play a unique role in ensuring these prerequisites through border cooperation, policing, and the fight against illegal migration, human trafficking, drug smuggling, terrorism, and other forms of organized crime.

The president added that interior ministries and their affiliated organizations have an important function in responding to potential crises, including natural disasters, pandemics, regional geopolitical changes, and various security threats.

He said the ECO region now needs such foundations more than ever.

Pezeshkian described ECO as the product of decades of effort and synergy among its members toward economic convergence.

He referred to the organization as a bridge connecting the nations of the region and a valuable platform for dialogue, experience sharing, and cooperation in all areas.

He underlined that in a rapidly changing world filled with evolving challenges and opportunities, regional cooperation is not a choice but a necessity.

One of ECO’s unfinished projects, he said, is the establishment of ECOPOL --a joint police body that could address internal vulnerabilities and facilitate collaboration with other regional and international police organizations.

Pezeshkian also mentioned the recent meeting of ECO member states’ prosecutors in Uzbekistan, calling it an important and timely step. He said judicial cooperation among member states is essential to support economic collaboration.

Referring to the region’s exposure to external interference, Pezeshkian noted that the greatest foreign interventions in modern history have occurred in and around the ECO region.

He pointed to ongoing occupation and, in recent years, severe crimes against humanity in Gaza committed by the Zionist entity.

He also stressed that excessive ambition and norm-breaking behavior among global powers have driven repeated interventions in this region.

Therefore, countries of Central Asia, the Caucasus, South Asia, West Asia, and the Persian Gulf --including ECO members-- must work together to build a coherent, stable, and development-oriented regional security architecture, Pezeshkian concluded.