Iranian Lawmaker Urges ECO Members To Stand Up Against Western Hegemonistic Policies

Islamabad, Sept 5, IRNA – Member of Iranian Parliament on Tuesday said that Iran is participating in the meeting of the Economic Coordination Organization (ECO) parliamentarians with a positive approach and urged the ECO members to devise a common strategy to counter western hegemonistic policies. Talking to IRNA on the sidelines of the ECO meeting, member of National Security Committee, Mehdi Sanaie said that objective of the meeting is to deliberate on the draft to form Parliamentary Association of Economic Cooperation Organization (PAECO). “We are confident that our recommendations regarding formation of Parliamentary Association of Economic Cooperation Organization would be accepted,” he said. The Iranian lawmaker termed the establishment of PAECO as a very important development. He noted that the objective of this organization is to review the regional approach and devise a strategy to counter the policies of US and some western states. He was hopeful that Parliamentary Association of Economic Cooperation Organization (PAECO) would make the region stronger. Member of National Security Committee answering a question said that all the 10 members of the ECO are participating in the meeting and definitely they will be able to pass the draft regarding establishment of Parliamentary Association of Economic Cooperation Organization. “We would be able to pass the recommendations unanimously,” he said. He said that the ECO countries are seriously working on the PAECO. Mehdi Sanaie told IRNA that he was participating in the ECO meeting on behalf of Iran's Majlis (parliament) Speaker Ali Larijani. He added that Iranian Speaker also supports the establishment of PAECO. Iranian Parliamentarian from Nahavand, expressing his views, said the heads of Parliamentary committees of the ECO member states would form the structure of Parliamentary Association of Economic Cooperation Organization. “ECO is an organization to bring economic stability in the region,” said Mehdi Sanaie. He was hopeful that Parliamentary Association of Economic Cooperation Organization would help in boosting the cooperation among ECO states. Answering a question he said that, ‘Right now we are going through the recommendations of Pakistan regarding PAECO establishment.’ The establishment of PAECO is an initiative of Dr. Fehmida Mirza, Speaker, National Assembly on the pattern of SAARC Speaker's Forum and Parliamentary Union of Organization of Islamic Countries (PUOIC). After the first session of the ECP Parliament meeting the participants attended a lunch hosted by Pakistani Speaker of National Assembly Dr. Fehmida Mirza. The meeting of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) parliamentarians is being held at the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS). Economic Cooperation Organization is an intergovernmental regional organization established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey for the purpose of promoting economic, technical and cultural cooperation among the member states. It was the successor organisation of what was the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD), founded in 1964, which ended activities in 1979. In the fall of 1992, the ECO expanded to include seven new members, namely Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan./end