Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that the 28th meeting of the foreign ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) member states will be held next week in Mashhad.

The organisation comprises ten member countries, including Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Turkey.

Esmail Baghaei, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, confirmed that high-ranking officials and ministers from ECO member states will attend the meeting. Representatives from the organisation’s regional specialised agencies and secretaries-general of certain multilateral economic organisations are also expected to participate in this key regional event.

Baghaei described ECO as one of the oldest regional economic cooperation frameworks among developing nations, committed to promoting regional economic development. He further noted that the Islamic Republic of Iran has assumed the rotating presidency of ECO for 2024.

The Economic Cooperation Organisation is an intergovernmental regional body established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey, with the aim of fostering economic and cultural collaboration among its members. In 1992, the organisation expanded by welcoming seven new members: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.