ECO leaders agree on expanding multifaceted connectivity

By Azernews

By Gunay Camal

The 13th summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) ended in Islamabad with calls of ECO states for expanding the economic cooperation, doubling intra-regional trade and promoting connectivity.

The summit was attended by all 10 ECO members – Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. The heads of the states attending the summit exchanged views on regional and global issues and stressed the importance of connectivity for the regional growth.

Addressing the Summit, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev laid special emphasis on mutual cooperation among the ECO countries in the field of infrastructure, connectivity, and transportation for the development and the progress of the region.

“Azerbaijan proposed a new energy strategy and a new vision to energy cooperation, said President Aliyev, stressing that cooperation in the transport sector is of great importance for the country.

“The creation of a strategic rail link between Europe and Asia through Azerbaijan will reduce time of transportation of cargoes from 30 to 15 days. The transport corridor East-West means the restoration of the historic Silk Road. Another important transport project is the North-South railway corridor,” he said, mentioning that Azerbaijan is an active participant, and investor of both strategic projects.

President Aliyev called on the ECO member-states to use these new infrastructure possibilities.

The Azerbaijani leader further pointed to the important role played by energy cooperation in the regional cooperation.

“Azerbaijan has proposed a new energy strategy and a new perspective on energy cooperation. Azerbaijan has become an important partner in ensuring the energy security of the wider region. By connecting the Caspian, Black and Mediterranean seas, we created a diversified pipeline infrastructure. Today, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and Baku Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline are symbols of regional cooperation. Today, our country, together with its partners is implementing the Southern Gas Corridor project worth $40 billion. This is a project of energy cooperation and energy security, transport and energy projects. The mentioned projects open tens of thousands of jobs in the region. These projects bring prosperity. It strengthens the friendship and cooperation among the countries,” he clarified.

Azerbaijan attaches great importance to expansion of economic cooperation between member countries, said the president.

“The growth of mutual trade and investment, expansion of export opportunities and promotion of cooperation among business circles will serve this purpose. The involvement of international financial institutions is also important. From this point of view, the Trade and Development Bank of the ECO played a more active role in financing the projects of regional importance It is necessary that our countries support it,” said the head of state.

The President also condemned the growing Islmophobia and made it clear that Islam is a religion of peace and it should not be linked with terrorism.

“Azerbaijan attaches great importance to solidarity among Islamic countries and states. Azerbaijan declared 2017 the "Year of Islamic solidarity".  After two months, Baku will host IV Islamic Solidarity Games. Today, Islamophobia is one of the most serious threats in the world. We strongly condemn this trend. Linking Islam with terror is a wrong and biased approach. Mainly Muslim states suffer from the terrorism. We must continue to promote the values ??of Islam, which is a religion of peace, mercy, tolerance and justice,” said President Aliyev.  

President Ilham Aliyev also spoke about the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and highlighted its grave consequences.

“As a result of Armenia’s military aggression, 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory - Nagorno-Karabakh, which is a historic land of Azerbaijan, and seven surrounding regions are under occupation,” he said.

The president reminded that an ethnic cleansing was carried out in these territories, and more than one million Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally displaced persons.

“All of our historical monuments, mosques and cemeteries in the occupied territories were destroyed. In 1992, Armenia committed genocide against Azerbaijan. Among those 613 civilians killed in the Khojaly genocide, 106 are women, 63 are children and 70 are elderly. more than a thousand people are still missing. More than a dozen countries have recognized the Khojaly Genocide. We express our gratitude to Pakistan for an official recognition of the Khojaly Genocide in 2012 by the Senate of Pakistan,” President Aliyev said.

The Head of State noted that the UN Security Council adopted four resolutions in connection with the conflict.

"These resolutions demand the unconditional and immediate withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied lands. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), OSCE, European Parliament, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Non-Aligned Movement and other international organizations have adopted similar resolutions and decisions,” the president said, further mentioning that in April 2016 there was established an OIC Contact Group on the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijani leader emphasized that Armenia should follow the resolutions or face sanctions, saying : “The territorial integrity of Azerbaijan must be restored.”

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan also urged the ECO and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to show determination in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

In his speech at the Summit, Erdogan stressed that the continuing occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia slows the economic development in the South Caucasus region and creates obstacles for effective cooperation between countries of the region.

He further called on all member countries to participate in the regional development, mentioning that Turkey has initiated several projects to promote development in the region.

The Turkish president said that it was important for member countries to communicate with each other adding that the region could benefit from the collective strengths of its people.

Addressing the Summit, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said ECO is an important platform to hold constructive dialogue.

Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbay Jeenbekov, in turn, said that promotion of science and technology is important to promote peace.

He laid great emphasis on the cooperation in diverse sectors including trade, transport, agriculture, economy, tourism, science and technology.

Kazakh Premier Bakytzhan Sagintayev called for attaching more importance to energy security in the region. He invited member states to participate in an international science expo being held in his country this year.

In his speech, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said with more understanding among the heads of State and Governments, we would be able to take longer strides in advancing the programmes and activities of the Organization.

The president voiced belief that the ECO can play a vital role in building the future of economy of the region and for this to happen, he said the ECO needs restructuring.

“The 21st century is the era of emerging economy of Asia,” he said, noting that economic activities are transferring from the West to East.

“The successful holding of the summit is a manifestation of the desire and commitment of the member states to transform the ECO into a vibrant regional bloc,” Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who chaired the summit, said at the end of the session.

The summit adopted Islamabad Declaration and Vision 2025, which underscored promotion of cooperation among member states. The declaration calls for development of transport and communication infrastructure, facilitation of trade and investment, promotion of connectivity with other regions, effective use of energy resources and undertaking measures for making the ECO effective and efficient.

The Islamabad Declaration also expressed concern about the existing unresolved conflicts in the ECO region, including the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The document emphasizes that the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict "prevents economic development and the full realization of the economic potential of the region and delays the development of economic cooperation in the regional and wider format."