Iran Oil Minister Proposes New Charter For Co-op Among ECO States

Tehran, March 6, IRNA – Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi proposed a new plan for cooperation among members of the Economic Cooperation Organization during opening session of the ECO third ministerial meeting here Wednesday. Addressing the ceremony, Qasemi referred to the new plan as the ˈnew ECO charterˈ. He stressed that cooperation of the ECO member states with non-member countries should not threaten common interests of its member states as well as those of the regional countries. The ECO is an intergovernmental organization involving seven Asian and three Eurasian nations, part of the South-Central Asian Union. It provides a platform to discuss ways to improve development and promote trade, and investment opportunities. Based on the new charter, the ECO members ˈshould be committed to give priority to use potentials of the ECO countries to meet their energy demands,ˈ said the minister. He stressed that approval of the new charter required consensus of all ECO members, adding that such a new mechanism should secure common interests of all ECO members. It should also observe all economic principles of the international free trade laws and regulations, those related to the environment in particular, the minister said. Qasemi also urged ECO member states to concede their energy projects to the private sector./end