THIRD MEETING OF ECO TOP OFFICIALS FOR AGRICULTURE COMMENCES IN BAKU

Baku,9 September,(AzerTAj) - At the meeting started on 8 Sept, Ismat Abasov, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Agriculture said some countries have experienced challenges with food security against the backdrop of the increasing demand for foodstuffs.

According to him, the demand for foodstuffs on the world market exceeded the supply
and the Government of Azerbaijan has intensified efforts to strengthen the national
food security.
Khurshid Anwar, Secretary General of the ECO, an intergovernmental international
organization involving Asian and European nations, added that the demand for food
across the world requires joining collective interests for this problem.
He added that the conference will discuss a number of issues, including current
programs, expansion of cooperation and other matters of mutual concern.
Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev said the development of
agriculture is one of the priorities for Azerbaijan.
He suggested expanding cooperation in cotton growing.
“The ECO member states produce 25% of cotton grown across the world. By introducing
modern technology, we can further increase production and textile industry. There
are some countries that don’t produce even 1 000 tons of cotton but have good
weaving industry,” he added.
A number of issues including the implementation of ECO Regional Program for Food
Security, global food security and the results of the Donors’ Conference are being
discussed at the two-day meeting.
Besides, the implementation of ECO-FAO Technical Cooperation Program, draft
regulations of ECO Veterinary Commission, proposals on the establishment of ECO
Authority for Water Demand, plans for the establishment of ECO Agriculture
Biotechnology Network (ECO-ABN) are also being discussed at the meeting.
Participants of the meeting will adopt Baku Declaration.
The Economic Cooperation Organization is an intergovernmental international
organization involving seven Asian and three European nations. It provides a
platform to discuss ways to improve development and promote trade, and investment
opportunities. The nations involved are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The common
objective is to establish a single market for goods and services, much like the
European Union.
The status and power of the ECO is growing. However, the organization faces many
challenges. Most importantly, the member states are lacking appropriate
infrastructure and institutions which the Organization is primarily seeking to
develop, to make full use of the available resources in the region and provide
sustainable development for the member nations.