The 14th summit of the 10-member Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) was held virtually on Thursday, with Prime Minister Imran Khan opening the summit. Since Pakistan was the chair of the 13th summit, which was held in Islamabad in 2017, this time around, it is Pakistan’s leaders who get to give the keynote speech, as Turkey takes over as the chair of this summit.
There is a lot to discuss in these rounds of meetings. It is no surprise that the theme of this year’s summit is ‘Regional Economic Cooperation in the Aftermath of Covid-19’—the pandemic has raised a number of economic, regional and global issues, which the regional powers, with many mutual areas of interest, could stand to benefit from cooperation.
There are lessons on the pandemic that Pakistan could share with the nine other members of the ECO as well, as our country has managed the influx of the coronavirus in a more balanced way than others. Through the keynote speech, the Prime Minister could share his customary insight on the pandemic, and how to balance opening up the economy while keeping reasonable levels of lockdown.
The summit holds potential for Pakistan. The world is a much different place than it was in 2017—the politics of the regional bloc have completely shifted and Pakistan has much stronger ties with Turkey and Central Asian allies than before. The pandemic too has highlighted the importance of creating more regional economic ties, as traditional strong first-world economies also suffer because of the pandemic.
As a founder of the ECO, along with Turkey and Iran, Pakistan has considerable standing to push for more economic cooperation and regional diplomatic ties. Recent CPEC projects, which have pushed us closer to Central Asian members, strengthen our case. We should utilise this opportunity.
Source: https://nation.com.pk/05-Mar-2021/upcoming-eco-summit