President Rouhani to take part in 13th ECO summit in Pakistan

President Hujjat al-Islam Hassan Rouhani plans to set off for Pakistan for a two-day official visit and to participate in the 13th summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in Islamabad.

According to Press TV, heading a high-ranking delegation, Rouhani will leave Tehran for Islamabad on Tuesday at the invitation of Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Iranian president's deputy chief of staff for communications and information, Parviz Esmaeili, said on Sunday.

He added that the summit would open on Wednesday and the Iranian president would deliver a speech briefing leaders of the prominent regional economic body on the Islamic Republic’s stances and positions on various issues.

On the sidelines of the summit, Rouhani will also hold meetings with senior officials of the participating countries, he noted.

The summit will review the standing of the ECO in the light of the new and emerging global and regional circumstances and discuss the course of action the organization should follow in expanding regional economic cooperation among its member states. The new ECO Vision 2025 is also expected to be adopted in Islamabad. 

The summit will be preceded by the 22nd meeting of the ECO Council of Foreign Ministers on Tuesday in Islamabad. Senior officials from member states will meet on Monday to make final preparations for both meetings. 

The last ECO summit was held in October 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan, and the 21st meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers was held in November 2013 in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

SS