Kasuri leaves for Afghanistan to attend ECO meeting
By Khalid Amin

ISLAMABAD—Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri would be representing Pakistan in the 17th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO being held in Herat on 20th October 2007.
The meeting will review progress achieved so far on major ECO project including the ECO Trade Agreement, the ECO Trade and Development Bank, the Transit Transport Framework Agreement and the feasibility study on interconnection of power system of member states.
The ECO Trade Agreement, ECOTA, which is expected to enter into force shortly, will lead to establishment of a Free Trade Area in the region by the year 2015. As ECO coordinating country for ECOTA, Pakistan will seek early operationalization of the agreement. Likewise the Trade and Development Bank have made progress and will commence operations by the end of 2007.
The meeting will focus on establishment of an ECO wide power grid. Some ECO Member States including Pakistan are deficient in electricity, while certain proximate States including Iran, Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic generates surplus power. A study is being conducted by NESPAK to develop regional interconnectivity option with a view to facilitate regional Trade in electricity. Data has already been collected from Pakistan, Iran, turkey, Azerbaijan, and Kyrgyz Republic. Pakistan will seek early completion of the study. It may be pointed out that Pakistan has already agreed to purchase 1000 MW from Iran bilaterally.
The ECO meeting will provide a useful opportunity to consolidate Pakistan's active role in ECO. Among other issue, Pakistan is keenly interested in establishment of the ECO Reinsurance Company and the ECO Science Foundation, both of which are to be based in Pakistan.
Pakistan in the last year, has hosted over a dozen ECO meetings including the Third Ministerial Meeting on the Industries as well as technical meeting on Agriculture, Environment, Transport, Science and Technology and Disaster Management.
The visit of Foreign Minister Kasuri to Afghanistan will provide an opportunity for bilateral meeting with the counterparts and to discussed matters of bilateral and regional interest.