Pakistan assumes ECO chairmanship, prioritizes regional trade

Pakistan has assumed the chairmanship of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Council of Ministers for the 2026-27 term. During the 27th informal ECO Council of Ministers meeting held in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar outlined several strategic priorities for the bloc.

Key objectives include enhancing regional connectivity and trade integration. Dar emphasized the need to accelerate corridor projects linking Central Asia to Arabian Sea ports and advocated for the operationalization of a digital Free Trade Zone. He specifically highlighted the proposed Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan railway as a priority project to link Central Asian markets.

Addressing regional stability, Dar noted that while the ECO region represents nearly 500 million people, it accounts for only 2.2 percent of global trade. He also called for increased cooperation on climate resilience, water security, and food security. Regarding security, Dar stated that terrorism originating from Afghan soil undermines regional stability and expressed the expectation that the Taliban government take verifiable action against militant groups such as the TTP and BLA.