ISTANBUL

The 17th summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) began in Azerbaijan's Khankendi city on Friday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was welcomed by Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev upon his arrival at the venue of the summit, themed New ECO Vision for a Sustainable and Climate-Resilient Future.

The participants of the summit also included Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar.

Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Oljas Bektenov, Deputy Prime Minister of the interim government of Afghanistan Mullah Abdulgani Birader, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkmenistan Rasit Meredow, UAE’s Industry and Advanced Technology Minister Sultan Al Jaber, Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) Kubancyhbek Omuraliev and Secretary General of the ECO Ased Majeed Khan were also present at the family photo session.

Holding the summit in Khankendi, which was once the capital of the occupying regime in Karabakh, is of symbolic importance for Azerbaijan.

The ECO is a political and economic intergovernmental organization founded by Türkiye, Pakistan, and Iran in 1985 to serve as a platform to discuss and improve development and promote trade and investment opportunities.

It has seven other members: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The TRNC is an observer member.