“I will start with efforts for an ECO free trade agreement, but the ultimate goal is to establish a monetary union,” he said.
ECO is an economic alliance among Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran and central Asian states including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
ECO, formerly called the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD), was extended to take in its fold the central Asian states after the break-up of Soviet Union. Now, it is mostly referred to in leading international reports and studies because of its significance.
In a meeting of the ECO CCI, held recently in Karachi, the participants decided to shift its leadership and secretariat to Pakistan for the next three years.
After reviewing the performance of the body at the end of three years, the members will decide which country should be picked as permanent headquarters of the organisation.
Usman has been selected as the ECO CCI president, in addition to his role as president of the Federation of D-8 Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
In the meeting, MA Lodhi was appointed secretary general and Dr Ayub Mehar economic adviser of the ECO CCI.
Usman stressed that in order to establish Pakistan as a viable destination for the ECO CCI headquarters the government should play the role of a facilitator.
This includes providing sufficient land for different facilities and promoting bodies like the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Saarc Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
He suggested that as an incentive the ECO CCI office-bearers should be granted diplomatic status.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 18th, 2014.
Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
1713853507-0/MalalaHilary-(2)1713853507-0-270x192.webp)
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ