Ambassador Huseyin Avni Bicakli, Deputy Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization accompanied by ECO’s Head of Section for International Relations Mr. Muhammad Farooq participated in the International Conference on Universal Access to Information on September 28, 2020. The conference, held on the occasion of International Day on Universal Access to Information (IDUAI), was organized virtually by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan in collaboration with the Public Foundation for Support and Development of National Mass Media.

The 11th Governing Board’s Meeting (GBM) of Regional Centre on Urban Water Management (RCUWM) was held virtually on September 23, 2020, under the auspices of UNESCO. The Meeting discussed ways and means of promoting and expanding mutual and multi-lateral cooperation among RCUWM Member States and Organizations, as well as progress on the implementation of proposals approved during the GBM 2019.

The newly appointed Deputy Head of Mission of Republic of Tajikistan in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Marufjon Abdurahmonov, paid a visit to the ECO Secretariat, Tehran on September 23, 2020. He was welcomed by the Deputy Secretary General of ECO, Ambassador Huseyin Avni Bicakli.

The 3rd Meeting of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Economic Cooperation Organization Educational Institute (ECOEI) hosted by the Ministry of National Education of Republic of Turkey was held virtually on 12th August 2020.

On August 10, 2020, the Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization, Dr. Hadi Soleimanpour and the ECO Secretariat’s Director for Human Resource & Sustainable Development, Mr. Kaan Sayin participated in a live webinar organized by the ECO Science Foundation in collaboration with Center of Excellence for International Economics (CEIE), University of Isfahan- Islamic Republic of Iran, to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on health and economy in the ECO region.

Following the successful TIR pilot operation from Bandar Abbas (Iran) to Tajikistan via Afghanistan, November 2019, for the first time a test run of the ECO Kyrgyz-Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Iran (KTAI) road corridor has commenced from the Iranian border crossing of Dogharun, on Sunday 26 July 2020. Therefore, the entire KTAI road corridor is now open for TIR transports.

On 21 July 2020, the ECO Secretary General, Dr. Hadi Soleimanpour had a telephonic conversation with the honourable Foreign Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan, H.E. Mr. Jeyhun Bayramov. Conveying felicitations to the newly appointed Foreign Minister, the Secretary General wished H.E. Jeyhun Bayramov every success in his new responsibilities.

On July 20, 2020, a consultative meeting was held at the ECO Secretariat to discuss the ways and means for early operationalization of ECO Regional Institute for Standardization, Conformity Assessment, Accreditation and Metrology (RISCAM).

A joint ESCAP-OSJD Virtual Meeting of Experts on Challenges & Opportunities for International Railway Transport along the TAR Network and beyond was held on July 7 – 8, 2020 to discuss the post-COVID-19 situation and measures required to prevent the negative impacts of the disease on the railway transportation. The event brought together 120 participants from different countries of Asia and Europe as well as some regional and international organizations including representatives of the International Union of Railways (UIC), International Railway Committee (CIT), and International Coordinating Council on Trans-Asian Transportation (CCTT).

On July 3, 2020, the ECO Secretary General, Dr. Hadi Soleimanpour had a telephonic conversation with the honourable Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi. The two sides discussed, inter alia, the ongoing activities under ECO Vision, measures to respond COVID-19, increased cooperation on economic and connectivity issues, as well as matters concerning the overall development in the region.