News / Politics

Hoping for regional integration, Iran president in Azerbaijan for ECO summit

Friday, 04 July 2025 9:02 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 04 July 2025 10:46 AM ]

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrives at Fuzuli airport in the Karabakh region, Azerbaijan, July 4, 2025. (Photo by president.ir)

President Masoud Pezeshkian has traveled to Azerbaijan to participate in the 17th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), emphasizing Iran’s commitment to fostering regional collaboration and stability.

President Pezeshkian landed at Fuzuli International Airport on Friday, where he was received with an official welcome and honor guard. He then traveled to Khankendi, the host city for this year’s summit, scheduled for June 3–4.

The Iranian president was invited by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and is expected to deliver a keynote address and hold bilateral meetings with several other heads of state attending the summit.

The summit brings together leaders from across the ECO member states, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Tajikistan's President Imomali Rahmon and Kyrgyzstan's President Sadyr Japarov.

These high-level discussions are part of the organization's ongoing efforts to deepen economic, technical, and cultural cooperation across Central Asia, South Asia, the Caucasus, and West Asia.

Speaking at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport, Pezeshkian pointed to the importance of deepening relations among the regional countries.

He expressed hope that his visit would boost political interactions and contribute to regional peace and stability, as well as enhance cooperation among the neighboring states.

“The greater the coordination and cooperation between the countries of the region, the less greed the enemies have for creating insecurity,” he said.

Founded in 1985 by Iran, Turkiye, and Pakistan, the ECO has since expanded to include Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Today, it serves as a major platform for regional economic integration.

The theme of the 17th summit is “New ECO Vision for a Sustainable and Climate Resilient Future.”

Iran and evolving role of ECO in regional economy

The ECO is a successful and promising regional organization, and Iran, as one of the founding countries of the organization, has a serious interest in strengthening intra-regional cooperation.

In a statement on its website, the ECO said the event in Khankendi will convene the organization’s heads of states/governments, ministers, observers, special guests from non-ECO countries and heads of international organizations to achieve development and prosperity through economic integration.

The summit, it added, will also feature a “dynamic and inclusive ECO Week” in different Azerbaijani cities.

The 16th ECO summit took place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in November 2023.

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