POLITICS
Azerbaijan to chair ECO
Tehran, Sept 13 (AZERTAC). Presidency at the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) will pass to Azerbaijan from Afghanistan for a three year term in August.
"In this regard, Shamil Alasgarov will be appointed Secretary General of ECO from August 13, succeeding Yahya Maroufi (Afghnaistan)".
Shamil Alasgarov, who was presented by Azerbaijani Ambassador to Iran Javanshir Akhundov, previously worked as Deputy Secretary General of ECO, at the UN as well as having other posts.
An ECO summit is planned to be held in Baku on October. The ninth summit of the Organization, whose members are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan, was held in Baku in May 2006.Turnover of Azerbaijan with the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation grew by 37.8 per cent in 2011.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation was founded by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey in 1985. In 1993 the organization was granted observer status at the UN, and a year later, in the Organization of Islamic Conference, now the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.