ECO permanent representatives to meet in Istanbul

ANKARA (A.A) - The 173rd meeting of the Council of Permanent Representatives of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) will take place in Istanbul on January 5-7, a Foreign Ministry statement said on Wednesday. ECO Secretary General, high-level bureaucrats of the Secretariat, and permanent representatives of ECO member states will participate in the meeting.  "This will be one of the unique Council of Permanent Representatives meeting that will take place outside Tehran, which indicates the importance Turkey attaches to ECO," the statement said.  Turkey's Food, Agriculture & Animal Breeding Ministry, ECO Secretariat and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representation in Ankara will sign a seed industry project on the margin of the meeting.  ECO is an intergovernmental regional organization established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey for the purpose of promoting economic, technical and cultural cooperation among the Member States. In 1992, the Organization was expanded to include seven new members, including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan,  Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.  The Council of Permanent Representatives (CPR) is composed of Ambassadors from the Member states, accredited as representatives to the ECO and meets as often as necessary under the chairmanhip of the representative of Member State holding the chairmanship of the Council of Ministers.