ECO Secretary General also highlighted vast economic and demographic potential of Member States, calling for their unyielding support for the role and functioning of the Foundation.
The 5th Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Science Foundation was held in Isfahan, Iran, on February 14, 2023, and ECO Secretary General Ambassador Khusrav Noziri was present. Mohammad Ali Zolfigol, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Minister of Science, Research, and Technology, presided over the event.
Considering the current trade volume of the region is below its size and population, the honourable minister, who presided over the meeting, emphasised the significance of scientific research and technological innovation for economic growth and trade development.
The ECO Secretary General highlighted the need for more proactive measures by the organisation and its specialised agencies, especially the ECO Science Foundation, to ensure strong scientific and technological collaboration amongst member countries.
He also highlighted the vast economic and demographic potential of the Member States, calling for their unyielding support for the role and functioning of the Foundation.
The meeting reviewed and discussed various other issues under its agenda, including the progress and activities of the Foundation, the implementation status of the 4th BoT Meeting, the ratification of ECOSF’s Charter, some additional protocols, and administrative and budgetary matters.
The board of trustees are going to debate and share ideas throughout the course of the two days in order to make decisions and schedule the foundation’s scientific activities in the region for the following three years.
As a consequence of the summit of the member nations held in Izmir, Turkey on March 12, 1977, the Basic Charter of ECO was created under the terms of the Treaty of Izmir.
In order to serve as a talent pool for highly qualified scientific and technical workers and to make it easier for Member States to promote scientific research, it called for the creation of the ECO Science Foundation as a specialized agency of the ECO.
At its third meeting on the weekend of February 6 and 7, 1993, the ECO Council of Ministers (COM) urged the creation of such an entity by 1995.
At the third ECO Summit in 1995 in Islamabad, the Charter of the Foundation was formally endorsed by all ten Member States; however, only Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan have done so to date. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan are additional Member States that must amend the Charter.