Afghanistan bids to host next ECO Summit in Kabul, eyes regional reengagement

Afghanistan has officially proposed to host the 18th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), signalling its ambition to deepen regional engagement and attract foreign investment.

The proposal was made by Afghan Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar during the 17th ECO Summit held in Khankendi, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

Baradar invited ECO member states to consider Kabul as the next summit venue, asserting that the country is prepared to host high-level international events and is actively working to improve its investment climate.

"Foreign investors have already started investing in Afghanistan's economy. So Afghanistan has become an attractive country for investment," he stated.

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that Afghanistan has created "favourable conditions" for foreign investment and that hosting the next ECO summit would mark a "new page for cooperation" among member countries.

If accepted, the proposal would represent a major diplomatic and logistical undertaking for Kabul and serve as a potential opportunity for Afghanistan to reintegrate more actively into regional economic and political frameworks under the ECO umbrella.

The Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) was established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan, and Türkiye as the successor to the Regional Cooperation for Development Organisation (RCD), which had existed since 1964. After the collapse of the USSR, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, as well as Afghanistan joined it.

The main goals at the founding of ECO were declared as the development of trade among member countries, creation of sustainable transport and logistics infrastructure, deepening energy cooperation, promotion of agriculture, tourism, healthcare, education, and science, development of the private sector and small and medium-sized enterprises, and increasing the region’s role in the global economy.

By Vafa Guliyeva