Vice-President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Qadir Qiafeh says the current low level of trade between ECO members does not match with the scope of this organization.
He made the remarks addressing the 5th ECO Business Forum in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Friday.
With abundant natural resources and workforce, the organization member states have to tap into the potentials and combine efforts to give a boost to intra-regional cooperation, he said.
Noting that the ECO member countries have had a $1.1 trillion trade with the world in 2022, Qiafeh said that as low as $96 billion of the sum was the share of intra-regional trade.
He also noted that this region has observed as low as 1.5% of the world’s total $1.6 trillion foreign direct investment (FDI) which does not match with the capacities and potentials of this influential part of the world.
He called for further cooperation within the frameworks of ECO common market, implementing an agreement for facilitating visa requirements among ECO members, e-commerce, and launching a joint monetary fund for barter of goods.
The Iran Chamber of Commerce vice president underlined the need for activating ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA) which he said would pave the way for a free trade agreement within the member states in accordance with the provisions of the country’s Vision 2025.