January, 2003

The ECO and Prospects for Economic Cooperation in Asia

Alaa Gomaa

The Economic Cooperation Organisation -ECO- held its seventh summit on 14 October 2002 in Istanbul. The ECO was founded in 1985 by Iran, Turkey and Pakistan as an extension of the Regional Cooperation for Development organisation founded by the three in 1964. In 1992, the organisation was joined by Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, bringing its membership up to 10.

The main objectives of the organisation are to achieve sustainable economic development for members and eliminate all tariff barriers between them, expand regional trade, promote cooperation in combating drugs, and consolidate historic and cultural ties.

Each country had its own reasons for joining. Iran, Pakistan and Turkey sought to establish an Asian Islamic grouping, which Iran considered a significant step from the geopolitical point of view. Turkey looked forward to containing Russian progress towards the Mediterranean. Pakistan endeavoured to restrict drugs trafficking by means of an agreement with Iran and to make use of Afghanistan as a gateway to Central Asia.
The Central Asian countries need economic support to overcome poverty and stagnation.

Structurally, the ECO is made up of a cabinet, a permanent representatives' council, a regional planning council, a secretariat, specialised agencies and regional institutions.

The organisation held its first summit in Tehran in 1992, and since then has held summits in Istanbul in 1993, Islamabad in 1995, Ashgabat in 1996, Almaty in 1998 and Tehran in 2000. These six meetings focused on economic issues and integration projects among members. The latest summit in Istanbul also discussed the reconstruction and stability of Afghanistan, and taking a stand against possible US attacks on Iraq because of the severe consequences such an attack would have on the Islamic world.

There are a number of factors, however, that may hamper the ability of the organisation to increase regional cooperation, such as:

Rivalry over spheres of influence, competition over the resources of the Caspian Sea, the membership of certain countries in more than one regional organisation, and the US presence in the region. Cooperation in the region is therefore primarily still a function of individual state policies.