Asia Regional Integration Center

Cross-border Infrastructure

Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO)

In 1985, the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) was established by Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey to promote economic, technical, and cultural cooperation among the member states. ECO is the successor organization of Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) which remained in existence since 1964 up to 1979. In 1992, the Organization was expanded to include seven new members, namely: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

The transport and communications sector, since the early years of ECO, is on the top of the agenda. Key documents in this field are: the Quetta Plan of Action; the Istanbul Declaration (ECO Long Term Perspectives); the Almaty Outline Plan for the Development of Transport Sector in the ECO region; the Ashgabat Declaration of 1997; the Programme of Action for ECO Decade of Transport and Communications; and the Transit Transport Framework Agreement.